FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 

REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,  D.  D. 

BEQUEATHED    BY   HIM   TO 

THE   LIBRARY  OF 

PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


Section      CA#f    \J 


(pmcJi  c/fudcJuf 


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V     ^  •*    j  * 


♦A 


\  JUL  2?  1936^ 


OF  FAVOURITE 


CONFERENCE  HYMNS, 


WITH 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 


OF 


CHURCH  HISTORY, 


THROUGH  EVERY  CENTURY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  ERA, 


BY  J.  A.  BURKE. 


ALBANY  : 

PRINTED  BV  A.  N.  SHERMAN". 
1629. 


A  TABLE  OF  METRES. 


L.  M.  8  8  8  8 

CM.  8  6  8  6 

S.  M.  6  6  8  6 

50th        10  10  10  11  On  wings  of  faith  Rippon. 

104         10  10  11   11  Begone  unbelief 

112         8  8  8  8  8  8  In  Jordans  tide— St.  Helens. 

148  6  6  6  6  8  8  Lenox. 

5-6  55556565  Ye  servants  of  God — Devonshire. 

6-4      6  6  4  6  6  6  4  Glory  to  God— Rip.  Hymn  to  Trin. 

6-8-4     6  6  8  4  6  6  8  4  The  God  of  Abram  praise— Rip. 

7's.  7  7  7  "7  >Tis  a  point. — Sovereign  grace  has 

7's  D.    7  7  7  7  7  7  7  7  Jesus  lover.-Brethren  while-Hoth, 

7-6       76767776  How  lost.-O  when  shall  I—Amster. 

7-6-8  7  6  767876  Jesus  let  thy  pitying  eye— Rip. 

8's       88888888  How  tedious. — From  whence  does 

8-6-8      8  6  8  6  8  8  Let  others  boast  their— Rip. 

8-8-6      8  8  6  8  8  6  The  Lord  into.— Throughout  our 

8-7  87878787  Come  thou  Fount.-Jesusgrant-Di*. 

8-7-4      8  7  8  7  4  7  Lord  dismiss  us — Tarn-worth. 

ll's       11   11   11     1 1  How  firm  a— Thy  mercy  my  God 

11-8  11  8   11  8  O  thou  in  whose  presence 

6-9         6696690  how  happy  are  they 

12's  12  12  12  12  12  12  The  voice  of  free  grace 

6-8  886666  Encourag'd  by  thy  word 

8-6         6  6  8  8  8  8  Farewell  dear  friends  I  must  be 


i 


SELECTION 

t 


OF  FAVOURITE 


SOHTFERENSE  HTHEETS. 


HYMN  1. C.  M. 

1  f\  FOR  a  closer  walk  with  God, 
^-^  A  calm  and  heavenly  frame  ; 
A  light  to  shine  upon  the  road 

That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb  ?  , 

2  Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew. 

When  first  I  saw  the  Lord  ? 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 
Of  Jesus  and  his  word  ? 

3  What  peaceful  hours  I  then  enjoy 'd  ? 

How  sweet  their  mem'ry  still ! 
But  now  I  find  an  aching  void, 
The  world  can  never  fill. 

4  Return,  O  holy  Dove,  return, 

Sweet  messenger  of  rest ! 
I  hate  the  sins  that  made  thee  mourn, 
And  drove  thee  from  my  breast. 

5  The  dearest  idol  1  have  known, 

Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne, 
And  worship  only  thee 

6  So  shall  my  walk  be  close  with  God, 

Calm  and  serene  my  frame  ; 
So  purer  light  shall  mark  the  road 
That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb. 


HYMN  2. 8  &  6. 

1  fpHE  Lord  into  his  garden  comes  : 
The  spices  yield  a  rich  perfume; 
The  lillies  grow  and  thrive  ; 
Refreshing  show' rs  of  grace  divine, 
From  Jesus  flow  to  ev'ry  vine, 
Which  makes  the  dead  revive* 
%  O  that  this  dry  and  barren  ground 
In  springs  of  water  may  abound, 

A  fruitful  soil  become  ; 
The  desert  blossoms  as  the  rose, 
When  Jesus  conquers  all  his  foes, 
And  makes  his  people  one. 

3  The  glorious  time  is  rolling  on, 
The  gracious  work  is  now  begun  : 

My  soul  a  witness  is  : 
I  taste  and  see  the  pardon  free, 
For  all  mankind  as  well  as  me, 

Who  come  to  Christ  may  live, 

4  The  worst  of  sinners  here  may  find 
A  Saviour  pitiful  and  kind, 

Who  will  them  all  receive  '. 
None  are  too  late  who  will  repent : 
Out  of  one  sinner  legions  went : 

Jesus  did  him  relieve. 

5  Come  brethren,  ye  who  love  the  Lord, 
And  taste  the  sweetness  of  his  word, 

In  Jesus'  ways  go  on  ; 
Our  troubles  and  our  trials  here 
Will  only  make  us  richer  there, 

When  we  arrive  at  home. 
G  We  feel  that  heaven  is  now  begun, 
It  issues  from  the  shining  throne, 

From  Jesus'  grace  on  high  : 
It  comes  like  floods,  we  can't  contain, 
We  drinli  and  drink  and  drink  again, 

And  yet  we  still  are  dry. 
7  But  when  we  come  to  reign  above. 


And  all  surround  the  throne  of  love, 

We'll  drink  a  full  supply  ; 
Jesus  will  lead  his  armies  through, 
To  living  fountains  where  they  flow, 

Which  never  will  run  dry. 
3  There  will  we  reign  and  shout  and  sing. 
And  make  the  upper  regions  ring, 

When  all  the  saints  get  home  ; 
Come  on,  come  on,  my  brethren  dear 
Soon  shall  we  meet  together  there, 

For  Jesus  bids  us  come. 
9  Amen,  amen,  my  soul  replies, 
I'm  bound  to  meet  him  in  the  skies, 

And  claim  my  mansion  there  : 
Now  here's  my  heart,  now  here's  my  hand. 
To  meet  you  in  that  heav'nly  land 

W  here  we  shall  part  no  more. 
10  There  on  that  peaceful  happy  shore, 
We'll  sing  and  shout  our  suflf 'rings  o'er, 

In  sweet  redeeming  love  : 
We'll  shout  and  praise  our  conqu'ring  Kin'o- 
Who  died  himself  that  he  might  bring 

Us  rebels  near  to  God. 


HYMN  3. 5&6. 

j    "OEGONE,  unbelief, 

-*-*  My  Saviour  is  near, 

And  for  my  relief, 

Will  surely  appear  ; 

By  prayer  le?  me  wrestle, 

And  he  will  perfor.n  : 

With  Christ  in  the  vessel 

I  smile  at  the  storm. 
2  Though  dark  be  my  way 

Since  he  is  my  guide, 

'Tis  mine  to  obey, 

'Tis  his  to  proviiie  ; 

Though  cisterns  be  brokeja, 

And  creatures  all  fail, 
1* 


The  word  he  has  spoken 
Shall  surely  prevail. 
His  love  in  time  past 
Forbids  me  to  think, 
He'll  leave  me  at  last 
In  trouble  to  sink  : 
Each  sweet  Ebenezer 
I  have  in  review, 
Confirms  his  good  pleasure 
To  help  me  quite  through 
Determined  to  save, 
He  watch'd  o'er  my  path, 
When  Satan's  blind  slave. 
1  sported  with  death  ; 
And  can  he  have  taught  me 
To  trust  in  his  name, 
And  thus  far  have  brought  rn* 
To  put  me  to  shame  ? 
Why  should  I  complain 
Of  want  01  distress, 
Temptation  or  pain  ? 
He  told  me  no  less  : 
The  heirs  of  salvation, 
I  know  from  his  word, 
Through  much  tribulation 
Must  follow  their  Lord. 
How  bitter  that  cup, 
No  heart  can  conceive, 
Which  he  drank  quite  up:  " 
That  sinners  might  live  ! 
His  way  was  much  rougher. 
And  darker  than  mine  ; 
Did  Christ,  my  Lord,  suffer. 
And  shall  1  repine  ? 
Since  all  that  I  meet 
Shall  work  for  my  good, 
The  bitter  is  sweet, 
The  med'cine  is  food  ; 
Though  painful  at  present, 
'Twill  cease  before  long. 


And  then,  O  how  pleasant 
The  conqueror's  song ! 


HYMN  4. 7"s. 

1  'PTMS  a  point  I  long  to  know, 

-■-   Oft  it  causes  anxious  thought : 
Do  I  love  the  Lord  or  no  ? 
Am  1  his,  or  am  I  not  ? 

2  If  I  love,  why  am  I  thus  ? 

Why  this  dull  and  lifeless  frame  ? 
Hardly,  sure,  can  they  be  worse, 
Who  have  never  heard  his  name. 

3  Could  my  heart  so  hard  remain, 
Prayer  a  task  and  burden  prove, 
Every  trifle  give  me  pain, 

If  I  knew  a  Saviour's  love  ? 

4  When  I  turn  my  eyes  within, 
All  is  dark,  and  vain,  and  wild  ; 
Fill'd  with  unbelief  and  sin, 
Can  I  deem  myself  a  child  ? 

5  If  I  pray,  or  hear,  or  read, 
Sin  is  mixt  with  all  1  do  : 

You  who  love  the  Lord  indeed. 
Tell  me  is  it  thus  with  you  ? 

6  Yet  I  mourn  my  stubborn  will, 
Find  my  sin  a  grief  and  thrall  ; 
Should  I  grieve  for  what  I  feel, 
If  I  did  not  love  at  all  ? 

7  [Could  1  joy  his  saints  to  meet, 
Choose  the  ways  1  once  abhorr'd, 
Find,  at  times,  the  promise  sweet, 
If  I  did  not  love  the  Lord  ?] 

S  Lord,  decide  the  doubtful  case  ? 

Thou  who  art  thy  people's  sun, 

Shine  upon  thy  work  of  grace, 

If  it  be  indeed  begun. 
0  Let  me  love  thee  more  and  more. 

If  I  love  at  all  I  pray  ; 


8 


If  I  have  not  lov'd  before, 
Help  me  to  begin  to  day. 


HYMN  5. 8  k  7. 

Grateful  recollection. 

1  /~^OME,  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing, 
^-^   Tune  my  heart  to  sing  thy  grace  : 
Streams  of  mercy  never  ceasing, 

Call  for  songs  of  loudest  praise. 
Teach  me  some  melodious  sonnet, 

Sung  by  flaming  tongues  above  ; 
Praise  the  mount — O  fix  me  on  it  ; 

Mount  of  God's  unchanging  love. 

2  Here  I  raise  my  Ebenezer, 

Hither  by  thy  help  I'm  come  ; 
And  I  hope  by  thy  good  pleasure. 

Safely  to  arrive  at  home  : 
Jesus  sought  me  when  a  stranger, 

Wand' ring  from  the  fold  of  God  : 
He  to  save  my  soul  from  danger, 

Interpol  his  precious  blood. 

3  O  !  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor, 

Daily  I'm  constraint  to  be  : 
Let  that  grace,  Lord,  like  a  fetter, 

Bind  my  wand'ring  heart  to  thee  ! 
Prone  to  wander,  Lord,  I  feel  it  ; 

Prone  to  leave  the  God  I  love — 
Here's  my  heart,  Lord,  take  and  seal  it 

Seal  it  for  thy  courts  above. 


HYMIS   6. 8's. 

Union  Hymn. 
T^ROM  whence  doth  this  union  arise, 
■■-     That  hatred  is  conquer'd  by  love  ! 
It  fastens  our  souls  in  such  ties, 

As  nature  and  time  can't  remove, 
It  cannot  in  Eden  be  found, 
Nor  yet  in  a  Paradise  lost ; 


9 

It  grows  on  Immanuel's  ground ; 

And  Jesus'  rich  blood  it  did  cost. 
My  friends  are  so  dear  unto  me, 

Our  hearts  are  united  in  lore  ; 
Where  Jesus  is  gone  we  Shall  be 

In  yonder  bright  mansions  above. 
0  why  then  so  loth  now  to  part  ? 

Since  there  we  shall  all  meet  again  : 
Engrav'd  on  Immanuel's  heart, 

At  a  distance  we  cannot  remain. 
And  when  we  shall  see  that  bright  day, 

And  join  with  the  angels  above, 
There  free  from  these  bodies  of  clay, 

We'll  dwell  with  Christ  Jesus  above. 
With  Jesus  we  ever  shall  reign, 

And  all  his  bright  glories  we'll  see  ; 
There  sing  Hallelujah,  Amen  1 

Amen,  even  so  let  it  be. 


HYMN  7. 11  Si  8. 

1  f\  THOU  in  whose  presence  my  soul  takes  delight, 
^-^  On  whom  in  affliction  I  call  ; 

My  comfort  by  day  and  my  song  in  the  night, 
My  hope,  my  salvation,  my  all. 

2  Where  dost  thou  at  noon-tide  resort  with  thy  sheep, 

To  feed  on  the  pastures  of  love  ? 
Say,  why  in  the  valley  of  death  should  I  weep, 
Or  alone  in  the  wilderness  rove  ? 

3  O  why  should  I  wander  an  alien  from  thee  ; 

Or  cry  in  the  desert  for  bread  ? 
Thy  foes  will  rejoice  when  my  sorrows  they  see. 
And  smile  at  the  tears  I  have  shed. 

4  Ye  daughters  of  Zion,  declare,  have  you  seen, 

The  star  that  on  Israel  shone: 
Say,  if  in  your  tents  my  Beloved  has  been, 
And  wherewith  his  flock  he  has  gone  I 

5  This  is  my  Beloved,  his  form  is  divine 

His  vestments  shed  odours  around  ; 


10 

The  locks  on  his  head  are  as  grapes  on  the  vine5 
When  autumn  with  plenty  is  crown'd. 

6  The  roses  of  Sharon,  the  lillies  that  grow 

In  the  vales  on  the  banks  of  the  streams  ; 
On  his  cheek  does  the  beauty  of  excellence  glow, 
And  his  eyes  are  as  quivers  of  beams. 

7  His  voice,  as  the  sound  of  the  dulcimer  sweet, 

Is  heard  through  the  shadow  of  death, 
The  cedars  of  Lebanon  bow  at  his  feet, 
The  air  is  perfumed  with  his  breath. 

8  His  lips  as  a  fountain  of  righteousness  flow, 

That  waters  the  garden  of  grace  ; 
From  which  their  salvation  the  Gentileyshall  know 
And  bask  in  the  smiles  of  his  face. 

9  Love  sits  on  his  eyelids  and  scatters  delight, 

Through  all  the  bright  mansions  on  high  ; 
Their  faces  the  cherubims  veil  in  his  sight, 
And  praise  him  with  fulness  of  joy. 

10  He  looks  and  ten  thousand  of  angels  rejoice. 

And  myriads  wait  for  his  word  ; 
He  speaks,  and  eternity,  fill'd  with  his  voice, 
Re-echoes  the  praise  of  the  Lord. 


HYMN  8. Vs. 

1  SOVEREIGN  grace  has  power  alone, 

To  subdue  a  heart  of  stone  ; 
And  the  moment  grace  is  felt, 
Then  the  hardest  heart  will  melt. 

2  When  the  Lord  was  crucifi'd, 
Two  transgressors  with  him  died  ; 
One  with  vile  blasphemous  tongue, 
Scoff  *d  at  Jesus  as  he  hung. 

3  Thus  he  spent  his  wicked  breath, 
In  the  very  jaws  of  death  ; 
Perish'd  as  too  many  do, 

With  a  Saviour  in  their  view. 


11 

4  But  the  other  touch'd  with  grace, 
Saw  the  danger  of  his  case  ; 
Faith  receiv'd  to  own  his  Lord, 
Whom  the  scribes  and  priests  abhorr'd. 

5  Lord,  he  pray'd,  remember  me, 
When  in  glory  thou  shalt  be, 
Soon  with  me  the  Lord  replies, 
Thou  shalt  be  in  paradise. 

6  This  was  wond'rous  grace  indeed, 
Grace  vouchsaf 'd  in  time  of  need  ; 
Sinners,  trust  in  Jesus'  name, 
You  will  find  him  still  the  same. 

7  Butb&ware  of  unbelief, 
Thinkl^  the  harden'd  thief! 
If  the  gospel  you  disdain, 
Christ  to  you  has  died  in  vain. 


HYMN  9 6  k  9. 

/~k  HOW  happy  are  they 

*S  Who  their  Saviour  obey, 
And  have  laid  up  their  treasures  above 

Tongue  can  never  express 

The  sweet  comfort  and  peace 
Of  a  soul  in  its  earliest  love  1 

That  sweet  comfort  was  mine, 

When  the  favour  divine 
I  first  found  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  • 

When  my  heart  it  believ'd, 

What  true  joy  I  received, 
What  a  heaven  in  Jesus's  name  ! 

'Twas  a  heaven  below, 

My  Redeemer  to  know  ; 
And  the  angels  couIJ  do  nothing  more 

Than  to  fill  at  his  feet, 

And  the  story  repeat, 
And  the  lover  of  sinner*  adore. 

Jesus  all  the  day  long 

Was  my  joy  and  my  song; 
O  that  all  his  salvation  might  see  ! 


A 


12 

He  hath  loved  me,  I  cry'd, 

He  hath  suffer' d  and  died, 
To  redeem  such  a  rebel  as  me. 

On  the  win^s  of  his  love, 

I  was  carry 'd  above 
All  my  sin  and  temptation  and  pain, 

And  i  nould  not  believe 

That  I  ever  should  grieve, 
That  I  ever  should  suffer  again. 

I  then  rode  on  the  sky, 

Frecl)  justify  d  I, 
Nor  did  env\  Elijah  his  seat ; 

My  glad  soul  mounted  higher 

In  a  chariot  of  fire, 
And  the  world  was  quite  under  my  feet. 

0  !  the  rapturous  height 
Of  that  holy  <h  light, 

Which  I  felt  in  the  life-giving  blood  ! 
Of  my  Saviour  possest, 

1  was  perfectly  blest, 

As  if  fill'd  with  the  fulness  of  God. 


HY     N  10. 8's. 

Creation  unsatisfying  without  Christ. 

1  TOTOW  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours, 
X  J.  when  Jesus  no  longer  I  see 

Sweet  prospects,  sweet  birds,  and  sweet  flow'rs, 
Have  lost  all  their  sweetness  with  me. 

2  The  mid-summer  sun  shines  but  dim, 
The  fields  strive  in  vain  to  look  gay, 
But  when  I  am  happy  in  him, 
December  's  as  pleasant  as  May. 

3  His  name  yields  the  richest  perfume, 
And  sweeter  than  music  his  voice  : 
His  presence  disperses  my  gloom, 
And  makes  all  within  me  rejoice. 

4  I  should,  were  he  always  thus  nigh, 
Have  nothing  to  wish  or  to  fear  : 


13 

No  mortal  so  happy  as  I, 

My  summer  would  last  all  the  year. 

5  Content  with  beholding  his  face, 
My  all  to  his  pleasure  resign'd  ; 
No  changes  of  season  or  place 
Would  make  any  change  in  my  mind. 

6  While  bless'd  with  a  sense  of  his  loye, 
A  palace,  a  toy  would  appear  ; 

And  prions  would  palaces  prove, 
If Jesu-  would  dwell  with  me  there. 

7  Dear  Lord,  if  indeed  1  am  thine, 
If  thou  art  my  sun  and  my  song  ; 
Say,  why  do  I  languish  and  pine  ? 
And  why  are  my  winters  so  long  ? 

8  O  drive  these  dark  clouds  from  my  sky ! 
Thy  soul-cheering  presence  restore  ; 
Or  take  me  unto  thee  on  high, 
Where  winter  and  clouds  are  no  more  ! 


HYMN  11. 12's. 

The  Voice  of  Free  Grace, 
The  voice  of  free  grace,  cries,  escape  to  the  mountain 
For  Adam's  lost  race,  Christ  has  open'd  a  fountain, 
For  sin  and  transgression  and  every  pollution  ; 
The  blood  flows  most  freely  in  streams  of  salvation. 

Hallelujah  to  the  Lamb  who  has  bles'd  us  with  pardon. 
And  weUl praise  him  again  when  we  pass  over  Jordan, 

This  fountain  so  clear,  in  which  all  may  find  pardon, 
From  Jesus*  side  flows  a  plenteous  redemption  ; 
Though  your  sins  were  as  great  and  high  as  a  mountain } 
The  blood  it  flows  freely,  in  streams  of  salvation. 
Hallelujah,  fyc. 

O  Jesus  ride  on  !  thy  kingdom  is  glorious  ; 
Oyer  sin,  death  and  hell  thou  wilt  make  us  vie! 
Thy  n:uut  shall  be  prais'din  the  great  congregation, 


14 

And  saints  shall  delight  in  ascribing  salvation. 
Hallelujah,  &rc. 

When  on  Zion  we  stand,  having  gain'd  the  blest  shore, 
With  our  harps  in  our  hands,  we  will  praise  evermore  3 
We'll  range  the  blest  fields,  on  the  banks  of  the  river, 
And  sing  hallelujah  for  ever  and  ever. 
Hallelujah,  fyc. 


HYMN  12. L.  M. 

Secret  Prayer. 

1  \  LL  those  who  seek  a  throne  of  grace, 
■**■  Are  sure  to  find  in  every  place  ; 
To  those  who  love  a  life  of  prayer, 
Our  God  is  present  every  where. 

2  The  shady  grove  or  burning  plain, 
The  blooming  field  or  swelling  main? 
Alike  are  sweet  in  secret  prayer, 
For  God  is  present  every  where. 

3  In  pining  sickness,  rosy  health, 
In  poverty  or  growing  wealth, 
The  humble  soul  delights  in  prayer, 
And  finds  Gcd  present  every  where.  * 

4  When  Zion  mourns  and  comfort- 
And  ail  her  fees  do  scoff  and  rail, 
'Tis  then  a  time  for  secret  prayer, 
For  God  k  present  every  where. 

5  When  some  backslide,  and  others  fall, 
And  few  are  found  who  strive  at  all, 
The  faithful  find  in  secret  prayer, 
That  God  is  present  every  where. 

6  Come,  then,  my  soul,  in  every  strait. 
To  Jesus  come,  and  on  him  wait  ; 
He  sees  and  hears  each  secret  sigh, 
And  brings  his  own  salvation  nigh. 


15 

HYMN  13. L.  M. 

\^HAT  various  hindrances  We  meet 
"     In  coming  to  a  mere}  -s< 

Yet  who,  that  knows  the  wort!:-      prayer, 
But  wishes  to  be  often  there  ? 

Prayer  makes  the  darken  d  cloud  withdraw, 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw, 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 
Brings  every  blessing  from  above. 

Restraining  prayer,  we  cease  to  tight  ; 
Prayer  makes  the  Christian's  armour  bright  ; 
And  satan  trembles,  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees. 

While  Moses  stood  with  arms  spread  wide, 
Success  was  ibund  on  Israel's  side  ; 
But  when  through  weariness  they  fail'd, 
That  moment  Amalek  prevail'd. 

Have  you  no  words  ;  ah,  think  again, 
Words  flow  apace  when  you  complain, 
And  fill  3ronr  fellow-creature's  ear 
With  the  sad  tale  of  all  your  care. 

Were  half  the  breath,  thus  vainly  spent, 
To  heaven  in  supplication  sent, 
Your  cheerful  song  would  ofi'ner  be, 
'•  Hear  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  me," 
/ 


HYMN  14. 8& 


T 


HE  faithless  world  promiscuous  flows, 
Enwrap'd  in  fancy's  vision — 
Allur'd  by  dreams,  beguil'd  by  shows 
And  empty  schemes,  nor  scarcely  knows 

There  is  a  brighter  heaven. 

Fine  gold  will  change,  and  diamonds  fade  : 
Swift  wings  to  wealth  are  given  ; 


16 

All  varying  time  our  forms  invade  ; 
The  seasons  roll,  light  sinks  in  shade  ; 
There's  nothing  lasts  but  heaven. 

Creation's  mighty  fabric,  all 

Will  be  to  atoms  riven  ; 
The  sky  consumed,  the  planets  fall, 
Convulsions  wreck  this  earthly  ball- — 

There's  nothing  firm  but  heaven. 

Empires  decay,  and  nations  die, 
Our  hopes  to  winds  are  given  j 
The  vernal  blooms  in  ruin  lie, 
Death  reigns  o'er  earth  and  sea  and  sky. 
There's  nothing  true  but  heaven. 

The  world  is  poor  from  shore  to  shore. 

And  like  a  baseless  vision  ; 
Its  lofty  domes  and  briliant  ore, 
And  gems  and  crowns  are  vain  and  poor- 

There's  nothing  rich  but  heaven. 

A  stranger  lonely  here  I  roam, 
From  place  to  place  I'm  driven — 

My  friends  are  gone,  and  Pm  in  gloom, 

This  earth  is  all  a  dreary  tomb, 
I  have  no  home  but  heaven. 

The  clouds  disperse,  the  light  appears. 

My  sins  are  all  forgiven  ; 
Triumphant  grace  has  quell'd  my  fears, 
Roll  on  ye  suns,  fly  swifter  years, 

Pm  on  the  wing  to  heaven. 

Adieu  to  all  below,  adieu  ! 

Let  life's  dull  chains  be  riven  ; 
The  charms  of  Christ  have  caught  my  view 
To  worlds  of  light  I  willpersue, 

To  live  with  him  in  heaven. 


17 

HYMN  15. L.  M. 

School  of  Christ. 

THERE  is  a  school  on  earth  begun, 
Supported  by  the  Holy  One — 
His  pupils  by  his  teaching,  prove 
The  principles  of  perfect  love. 

Come  then  my  friends,  where'er  you  be 
Come,  will  you  go  to  school  with  me— 
Christ  Jesus  is  my  master's  name, 
To-day  as  yesterday  the  same. 

His  school  book  is  the  Scriptures  true  ; 
His  lessons  are  forever  new, 
His  scholars  all,  are  well  agreed  ; — 
Oh,  'tis  a  blessed  school  indeed. 

My  master  learns  the  blind  to  see — 
Then  come  ye  blind  the  school  is  free. 
My  master  learns  the  lame  to  walk — 
He  also  lecrns  the  dumb  to  talk. 

My  master  learns  the  deaf  to  hear — 
Then  come  ye  deaf,  and  lend  an  ear 
Unto  my  master's  pleasant  voice  ; 
He'll  make  your  mourning  souls  rejoice. 

He  learns  the  swearing  man  to  pray, 
Come  ye  profane  without  delay — 
He'll  change  your  tongues  to  praise  his  name, 
And  sound  aloud  the  master's  fame. 

Come  brethren  dear,  who  are  at  school, 
Attention  pay  to  every  rule — 
Soon  we  shall  learn  the  happy  art 
Of  loving  God  with  all  the  heart. 

Soon  these  frail  tenements  must  die, 
Then  we  shall  lay  our  school  books  by — 
We'll  reign  with  master  Je^us  then, 
Glory  to  God — glory,  anion. 

Chorus. — We  are  going  to  join  the  church  above. 
We  soon  sh  .11  shout  redeeming  love  : 


18 

Amen,  amen,  the  angel  cries. 
Amen,  amen,  my  soul  replies. 


HYMN  16. 7  &  6. 

1  XJTOW  lost  was  my  condition, 
HA  Till  Jesus  made  me  whole ! 
There  is  but  one  Physician 

Can  cure  the  sin-sick  soul  : 
Next  door  to  death  he  found  me, 

And  snatch'd  me  from  the  grave. 
To  tell  to  all  around  me 

His  wondrous  pow'r  to  save. 

2  The  worst  of  all  diseases 

Is  light  compar'd  with  sin: 
On  ev'ry  part  it  seizes, 

But  rages  most  within  ; 
'Tis  palsy,  plague,  and  fever, 

And  madness,  all  combin'd  ; 
And  none  but  a  believer 

The  least  relief  can  find. 

3  From  men  great  skill  professing 

1  thonght  a  cure  to  gain  , 
But  this  prov'd  more  distressing, 

And  added  to  my  pain. 
Some  said  that  nothing  aiPd  me, 

Some  gave  me  up  for  lost ; 
Thus  every  refuge  fail'd  me, 

And  all  my  hopes  were  cross'd. 

4  At  length  this  great  Physician, 

How  mali -bless  is  his  grace  ! 
Accepted  my  petition, 

And  undertook  my  case  : 
First  gave  me  sight  to  view  him, 

For  sin  my  eyes  had  seal'd  ; 
Then  bade  me  look  unto  him  ; 

I  look'd,  and  I  wasJheaPd. 

5  A  dying,  risen  Jesus, 

Seen  by  the  eye  of  faith, 


19 

At  once  from  danger  frees  us. 
And  saves  the  soul  from  death. 

Come  then  to  this  Physician, 
His  help  he'll  freely  give, 

He  makes  no  hard  condition, 
"Pis  only  look — and  live. 


HYMN  17. -S.M, 

The  Gospel  Pool, 

1  "j>ESIDE  the  Gospel  Pool, 
■*-*   Appointed  for  the  poor, 

From  year  to  year  my  helpless  soul 
Has  waited  for  a  cure. 

2  How  often  have  I  seen 
The  healing  waters  move, 

And  many  round  me  stepping  in, 
Their  efficacy  prove. 

3  But  my  complaints  remain, 
I  feel  the  very  same  ; 

As  full  of  guilt,  and  fear,  and  pain, 

As  when  at  first  I  c  me. 
A  O,  would  the  Lord  appear, 

My  maladies  to  he.  1  1 
He  knows  how  long  I've  waited  here, 

And  what  distress  i  fee], 

5  How  often  have  I  thought, 
Why  should  1  longer  try  ? 

Surely  the  mercies  I  have  sought, 
Are  not  for  such  as  I. 

6  But  wither  shall  I  go  '? 
There  i>  no  other  pool, 

Where  streams  of  sovereign  inercv  flow 
To  make  a  sinner  whole. 

7  Here  then,  from  day  to  day, 
I'll  wait,  and  hope,  and  cry  ; 

Can  Jesus  hear  a  sinner  pray, 

And  suffer  him  to  die  ? 
$  No,  he  is  full  of  grace  , 

He  never  will  permit 


20 

The  soul  that  fain  would  see  his  face, 
To  perish  at  his  feet. 


HYMN  18. ll's. 

Tune,  Portuguese  Hytrin. 
OTOW  firm  a  foundation    ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 

-*"*-  Is  laid  for  your  faith  in  his  excellent  word ! 

What  more  can  he  say,  than  to  you  he  hath  said .? 

You,  who  unto  Jesus  for  refuge  have  fled. 

In  every  condition,  in  sickness,  in  health, 

In  poverty's  vale,  or  abounding  in  wealth  ; 

At  home  and  abroad,  on  the  land,  on  the  sea, 
'  As  thy  days  may  demand,  shall  thy  strength  ever  be;, 
'  Fear  not,  I  am  with  thee,  O  be  not  dismay'd, 
e  I,  I  am  thy  God,  and  will  still  give  thee  aid  ; 
'  I'll  strengthen  thee,  help  thee,  and  cause  thee  to  stand, 
'  Upheld  by  my  righteous,  omnipotent  hand. 
1  When  thro'  the  deep  waters,  I  call  thee  to  go, 
'  The  rivers  of  wo  shall  not  thee  overflow  ; 
{  For  I  will  be  with  thee  thy  troubles  to  bless, 
'  And  sanctify  to  thee,  thy  deepest  distress. 
'  When  thro'  fiery  trials  thy  pathway  shall  lie, 
'  My  grace  all-sumcient  shall  be  thy  supply  ; 
6  The  flame  shall  not  hurt  thee,  I  only  design 
*■  Thy  dross  to  consume,  and  thy  gold  to  refine. 
*  Even  down  to  old  age,  all  my  people  shall  prove 
5  My  sovereign,  eternal,  unchangeable  love  : 
'  And  when  hoary  hairs  shall  their  temples  adorn, 
'  Like  lambs  they  shall  still  in  my  bosom  be  borne. 
'  The  soul  that  on  Jesus  hath  lean'd  for  repose, 
<  /  will  not,  I  will  not  desert  to  his  foes  ; 
'  That  soul,  tho'  all  hell  should  endeavour  to  shake, 
'  Pll  never,  no  never,  no  never  forsake.39 


B 


HYMN  19. 10  &  11. 

Star  in  the  East. 
AIL  the  bless'd  morn  when  the  great  Mediator, 
Down  from  the  mansions  cf  glory  descend  ; 


21 

Shepherds  go  worship  the  babe  in  the  manger,' 
Lo  !  for  his  guards  the  bright  angels  descend. 

CHORUS. 

Brightest  and  blest  of  the  sons  of  the  morning, 
Shine  on  our  darkness  and  lend  us  thine  aid  ; 
Star  in  the  East,  the  horizon  adorning, 
Guide  where  our  infant  Redeemer  was  laid. 

Cold  on  his  cradle  the  dew-drops  were  shining, 
Lo  !  lies  his  head  with  the  beasts  of  the  stall ; 
Angels  adore  him  in  slumber  reclining, 
Maker,  and  Monarch,  and  Saviour  of  all. 
Brightest  and  blest,  fyc. 

Say  shall  we  guild  him  in  costly  devotion, 
Odours  of  Eden  an  offering  divine  ; 
Gems  from  the  mountains  and  pearls  from  the  ocean 
Myrrh  from  the  forest  and  gold  from  the  mine. 
Brightest  and  blest,  4'C. 

Vainly  we  offer  each  ample  oblation  ; 
Vainly  with  gold,  we  his  favor  secure, 
Richer  by  far  in  the  heart's  adoration, 
Dearer  to  God,  are  the  prayers  of  the  poor. 
Brightest  and  blest,  fyc. 


HYMN  20. 3  7  4. 

1  /^  UIDE  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah, 
^*"  Pilgrim,  through  this  barren  land, 
I  am  weak,  but  thou  art  mighty  ; 

Hold  me  with  thy  powerful  hand  ; 
Bread  of  heaven, 
Feed  me  till  I  want  no  more. 

2  Open,  Lord,  the  crystal  fountain, 

Whence  the  healing  streams  do  flow  ; 
Let  the  fiery  cloudy  pillar, 

Lead  me  all  my  journey  through: 

Strong  Deliverer, 
Be  thou  still  my  strength  and  shield. 


22 

When  I  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan, 

Bid  my  anxious  fears  subside  ; 
Death  of  deaths,  and  hell's  destruction, 
Land  me  safe  on  Canaan's  side  : 
Songs  of  praises 
I  will  ever  give  to  thee. 


HYMN  21. 6&8. 

1  j^NCOURAG'Dbythyword 

Of  promise  to  the  poor, 

Behold  a  beggar,  Lord, 

Waits  at  thy  mercy-door  : 
No  hand,  no  heart,  dear  Lord  but  thine, 
Can  help  or  pity  wants  like  mine. 

2  The  beggar's  usual  plea, 
Relief  from  men  to  gain, 
If  offer'd  unto  thee, 

I  know  thou  would'st  disdain; 
But  those  which  move  thy  gracious  ear, 
Are  such  as  men  would  scorn  to  hear. 

3  I  have  no  right  to  say, 
That  though  I  now  am  poor. 
Yet  once  there  was  a  day 
When  I  possessed  more  ; 

Thou  know'st  that  from  my  very  birth, 
I've  been  the  poorest  wretch  on  earth. 

4  Nor  dare  I  to  profess, 
As  beggars  often  do, 
Thou  great  is  my  distress, 
My  faults  have  been  but  few  : 

If  thou  should'st  leave  my  soul  to  starve, 
It  would  be  what  I  well  deserve. 

0  Though  crumbs  are  much  to  good 
For  such  a  wretch  as  I, 
No  less  than  children's  food 
My  soul  can  satisfy. 

0  do  not  frown  and  bid  me  go  ; 

1  must  have  all  thou  canst  bestow. 


23 

7  Nor  can  I  willing  be 
Thy  bounty  i  o 

From  others  :"  me, 

Their  want?  .  t  iVel  ; 

I'll  tell  them  4f  y's  store, 

And  try  to  send  a  thousand  more. 

8  Thy  ways,  thou  Only  Wi^e, 
Our  thoughts  and  ways  transcend, 
Far  as  tirj  arched  skies 

Above  this  eai  <  h  extend. 
Such  pleas  as  mine  men  would  not  hear. 
But  God  receive?  a  beggar's  prayer. 


HYMN  22. 7  &  8. 

Dying  Saint  to  his  Soul. 1  Cor.  xv.  54-57, 

1  "VT1TAL  spark  of  heavenly  flame  ! 

*     Quit,  O  quit  this  mortal  frame  ; 
Trembling,  hoping,  ling'ring,  flying, 
O  the  pain,  the  bliss  of  dying  ! 
Cease,  fond  nature,  cease  thy  strife, 
And  let  me  languish  into  life. 

2  Hark  !  they  whisper,  angels  say, 
"  Sister  spirit,  come  away  ;" 
What  is  this  ab&orbs  me  quite  ? 
Steals  my  senses^  shuts  my  sight  ? 
Drowns  my  spirit,  draws  my  breath  ? 
Tell  me  my  soul,  can  this  be  death  ? 

3  The  world  recedes,  it  disappears  ! 
Heaven  opens  on  my  eyesr— my  ears 
With  sounds  seraphic  ring  ! 

Lend,  lend  your  wings,  I  mount  !  I  fly  '. 
O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ? 
O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 


SWE 
TJ- 


HYMN  23. C.  M. 

SET  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt; 
The  Saviour's  pard'ning  blood, 


24 

Apply'd,  to  cleanse  my  soul  from  guilt, 
And  bring  me  home  to  God. 

2  Soon  as  the  morn  the  light  reveal'd, 
His  praises  tun'd  my  tongue  ; 
And  when  the  evening  shades  prevail'd, 
His  love  was  all  my  song. 

[3  In  vain  the  tempter  spread  his  wiles, 
The  world  no  more  could  charm  ; 
I  liv'dupon  my  Saviour's  smiles, 
And  lean'd  upon  bis  arm. 

4  In  pray'r,  my  soul  drew  near  the  Lord, 

And  saw  his  glories  shine  : 

And  when  1  read  his  holy  word, 

IcalPd  each  promise  mine.] 

5  Then  to  his  saints  I  often  spoke 

Of  what  his  love  had  done  ; 
But  now  my  heart  is  almost  broke 
For  all  my  joys  are  gone. 

o  Now  when  the  evening  shade  prevails, 
My  soul  in  darkness  mourns  ; 
And  when  the  morn  the  light  reveals, 
No  light  to  me  returns. 

7  [My  pray'rs  are  now  a  chatt'ring  noise, 

For  Jesus  hides  his  face  ; 
I  read — the  promise  meets  my  eyes, 
But  will  not  reach  my  case.] 

8  Now  satan  threatens  to  prevail, 

And  make  my  soul  his  prey  : 
Yet,  Lord,  thy  mercies  cannot  fail ; 
O  come  without  delay  ! 


HYMN  24. 7's. 

1   1  f  ORD,  I  cannot  let  thee  go, 
-"  Till  a  blessing  thou  bestow  ; 
Do  not  turn  away  thy  face, 
^line's  an  urgent,  pressing  case. 


25 


Dost  thou  ask  me,  who  I  am  ? 
Ah  my  Lord,  thou  know'st  my  name ! 
Yet  the  question  gives  a  plea, 
To  support  my  suit  with  thee  ! 
Thou  did'st  once  a  wretch  behold, 
In  rebellion  blindly  bold  ; 
Scorn  thy  grace — thy  pow'r  defy — . 
That  poor  rebel,  Lord,  was  I. 
Once  a  sinner  near  despair 
Sought  thy  mercy-seat  by  pray'r  ; 
Mercy  heard  and  set  him  free, 
Lord,  that  mercy  came  to  me. 
Many  days  have  past  since  then, 
Many  changes  I  have  seen  ; 
Yet  have  been  upheld  till  now  ; 
Who  could  hold  me  up  but  thou  ? 
Thou  hast  help'd  in  ev'ry  need — 
This  emboldens  me  to  plead  ; 
After  so  much  mercy  past, 
Canst  thou  let  me  sink  at  last  ? 
No — I  must  maintain  my  hold — 
'Tis  thy  goodness  makes  me  bold  ; 
I  can  no  denial  take, 
When  I  plead  for  Jesus'  sake. 


HYMN  25.- 


"ORETHREN,  while  we  sojourn  here, 
-"  Fight  we  must,  but  should  not  fear  ; 
Foes  we  have,  but  we've  a  friend, 
One  who  loves  us  to  the  end  ; 
Forward  then  with  courage  go, 
Lopg  we  shall  not  dwell  below  ; 
Soon  the  joyful  news  will  come, 
Child  your  Father  calls — Come  home. 
In  the  world  a  thousand  snares 
Lay  to  take  us  on  in  ares  ; 
Satan,  with  malicious 
Watches  each  unguarded  heart ; 
3 


26 

But  from  SatarTs  malice  free, 
Saints  shall  soon  victorious  be 
Soon  the  joyful  news  will  come. 
Cmld*  your  Father  calls — Come  home* 
But  of  all  the  foes  we  meet, 
None  so  apt  to  turn  our  feet. 
None  betray  us  into  sin, 
Like  the  foes  we  have  within  j 
Vet  let  nothing  spoil  your  peace„ 
Christ  will  also  conquer  these  ; 
Then  the  joyful  news  will  come, 
Child,  your  Father  calls — Come  home. 


HYMN  26. L.  M. 

1  TESUS,  my  all,  to  heaven  is  gone — ■ 
**    He  whom  I  fix  my  hopes  upon  ; 
His  track  1  see,  and  I'll  pursue 

The  narrow  way  till  him  I  view. 

2  The  way  the  holy  prophet  went, 
The  road  that  ieads  from  banishment. 
The  king's  highway  of  holiness 

I'll  go,  for  all  his  paths  are  peace 
\3  No  stranger  shall  proceed  therein. 
No  lover  of  the  world  and  sin, 
No  lion,  no  devouring  care, 
No  sin,  nor  sorrow  shall  be  there. 

4  No — nothing  shall  go  up  thereon, 
But  trav'ling  souls,  and  I  am  one  ; 
Way-faring  men,  to  Canaan  boundf 
Shall  only  in  the  way  be  found.] 

5  This  is  the  way  I  long  have  sought, 
And  mourn'd  because  I  found  it  not ; 
My  grief,  my  burden,  long  has  been> 
Because  I  could  not  cease  from  sin 

6  The  more  I  strove  against  its  pow'i\ 
I  sinu'd  and  stumbled  but  the  more  ; 
Till  late  1  heard  my  Saviour  say, 

"  Come  hither,  soul,  I  am  the  way." 


27 

Lo !  glad  I  come,  and  thou,  blest  Lamb, 
Shall  take  me  to  thee  as  I  am  ; 
My  sinful  self  to  thee  I  give — 
Nothing  but  love  I  shall  receive. 
Then  will  I  tell  to  sinners  round, 
What  a  dear  Saviour  I  have  found  ; 
Fll  point  to  thy  redeeming  blood, 
And  say,  behold  the  way  to  God. 


HYMN  27. C.    M. 

1     A  LL  hail  the  power  of  Jesus1  name  ! 
-^*-  Let  angels  prostrate  fall  : 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 
Martyrs. 
*  [Crown  him  ye  martyrs  of  our  God, 
Who  from  his  altar  call ; 
Extol  the  stem  of  Jesse's  rod, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all.] 
Converted  Jews. 

3  [Ye  chosen  seed  of  Israel's  race, 

A  remnant  weak  and  small  : 
Hail  him  who  saves  you  by  his  grace, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all.] 

Believing  Gentiles. 

4  Ye  Gentile  sinners,  ne'er  forget 

The  wormwood  and  the  gall  ; 
Go — spread  your  trophies  at  his  feet, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

Sinners  of  every  age. 

5  [Babes,  men  and  sires,  who  know  his  love, 

Who  feel  your  sin  and  thrall  ; 
Now  joy  with  all  the  hosts  above, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 

Sinners  of  every  nation. 
•  Let  every  kindred,  every  tribe 
On  this  terrestrial  ball, 
To  him  all  majesty  ascribe, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 


28 

Ourselves. 
7  0  that,  with  yonder  sacred  throng. 
We  at  his  feet  may  fall ; 
We'll  join  the  everlasting  song, 
And  crown  him  Lord  of  all. 


HYMN  28, S.  M. 

"OLEST  is  the  tie  that  binds 
-■-*  Our  hearts  in  christian  love  : 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds   • 

Is  like  to  that  above. 

Before  our  Father's  throne 

We  pour  our  ardent  prayers  ; 
Our  fears,  our  hopes,  our  aims  are  one. 

Our  comfort  and  oiyr  cares. 

We  share  our  mutual  woes  ; 

Our  mutual  burdens  bear  ; 
And  often  for  each  other  flows 

The  sympathizing  tear. 

When  we  asunder  part, 

It  gives  us  inward  pain, 
But  we  shall  still  be  join'd  in  heart 

And  hope  to  meet  again. 

This  glorious  hope  revives 

Our  courage  by  the  way  ; 
While  each  in  expectation  lives. 

And  longs  to  see  the  day. 

From  sorrow,  toil  and  pain, 

And  sin,  we  shall  be  free  ; 
And  perfect  love  and  friendship  reign 

Thro'  all  eternity. 


HYMN  29.— C.  M. 
1   iOOME,  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast 
^   A  thousand  thoughts  revolve, 
Come,  with  your  guilt  and  fear  opprest, 
And  make  this  lust  resolve. 


29 


<<  I'll  go  to  Jesus,  tho'  my  sin 

"  Hath  like  a  mountain  rose  ; 
il  I  know  his  courts,  I'll  enter  in, 

"  Whatever  may  oppose. 
"  Prostrate  Til  lie  before  his  throne, 

"  And  there  my  guilt  confess  ; 
"  I'll  tell  him  I'm  a  wretch  undone, 

"  Without  his  sovereign  grace. 
"  I'll  to  the  gracious  king  approach, 

"  Whose  sceptre  pardon  gives, 
<c  Perhaps  he  may  command  my  touch 

"  And  then  the  suppliant  lives. 
"  Perhaps  he  will  admit  my  plea, 

«'  Perhaps  will  hear  my  prayer  ; 
ci  But  if  I  perish  I  will  pray, 

<;  And  perish  only  there. 
"  I  can  but  perish  if  I  go, 

"  I  am  resolv'd  to  try  : 
*e  For  if  I  stay  away,  I  know 

"  I  must  forever  die." 


HYMN  30. C.  M. 

1  TT  shall  be  well,  let  sinners  know. 
■*-  With  those  that  love  the  Lord  ; 
His  saints  have  always  found  it  so, 

By  resting  on  his  word. 

2  Peace,  then,  ye  chasten 'd  sons  of  God, 

Why  let  vour  sorrows  swell  ? 
Wisdom  directs  your  Father's  rod — 
His  word  says,  it  is  well  ? 

3  Though  like,  the  Shulamite  of  old, 

Whose  creature-comforts  fell ; 
Like  her,  let  f ..ilh  be  strong  and  bold. 
And  answer,  it  is  well. 

4  Though  you  mij  trials  sharp  endure, 

From  sin,  ov  death,  or  hell  ; 
Your  heavenly  Father's  love  is  sure, 
And  therefore,  it  is  well. 
3* 


36 

Soon  will  your  sorrows  all  be  o'er, 
And  you  shall  sweetly  tell, 

On  Canaan's  calm  and  pleasant  shore, 
That  all  at  last  is  well. 


HYMN  31. 104. 

JEHOVAH  hath  said,  'tis  left  on  record, 
"  The  righteous  are  one  with  Jesus  the  Lord  ;'* 
At  all  times  he  loves  them,  'twas  for  them  he  dy'd, 
Yet  oft  times  he  proves  them,  for  grace  must  be  try"d. 

Temptations  and  sins  in  legions  shall  rise, 
As  goads  in  thy  side  or  thorns  in  thine  eyes  ; 
And  oft  to  thy  sorrow  his  face  he  will  hide, 
For  G,od  hath  determined  thy  grace  shall  be  try'd. 

With  him  on  the  mount,  to-day  thou  shalt  be 
IndulgM  by  thy  Lord,  his  glory  to  see  ; 
There  he  may  caress  thee,  and  call  thee  his  bride  ; 
Yet  grace,  tho'  he  bless  thee,  shall  surely  be  try'd. 

As  gold  from  the  flame,  he'll  bring  thee  at  last, 
To  praise  him  for  all  thro'  which  thou  hast  past ; 
Then  love  everlasting  thy  griefs  shall  rcpa}r, 
And  God,  from  thine  eyes,  wipe  all  sorrows  away. 


HYMN  32. 6— -5's.  k  2— 6's. 

1  "IT^E  servants  of  God, 

•*■    Your  master  proclaim, 
And  publish  abroad, 
His  wonderful  name  : 
The  name  all  victorious 
Of  Jesus  extol  ; 
His  kingdom  is  glorious, 
And  rules  over  all. 

2  God  ruleth  on  high, 
Almighty  to  save  ; 
And  still  he  is  nigh, 
His  presence  we  have  : 


SI 

The  great  congregation 
His  triumph  shall  sing, 
Ascribing  salvation 
To  Jesus  our  King. 

3  Salvation  to  God, 
Who  sits  on  his  throne, 
Let  all  cry  aloud, 
And  honor  the  Son  ; 
Our  Jesus'  praises 
The  angels  proclaim, 

Fall  down  on  their  faces, 
And  worship  the  Lamb. 

4  Then  let  us  adore, 

And  give  him  his  right  ; 
All  glory  and  pow'r, 
And  wisdom  and  might ; 
All  honor  and  blessing, 
With  angels  above, 
And  thanks  never-ceasing, 
And  infinite  love. 


HYMN  33. L.  M. 

1  ORAY'R  was  appointed  to  convey 

-■-  The  blessings  God  designs  to  give  ; 
Long  as  they  live  should  christians  pray, 
For  only  while  they  pray,  they  live. 

2  The  christian's  heart  his  pray'r  indites, 
He  speaks  as  prompted  from  within  ; 
The  Spirit  bis  petition  writes, 

And  Chii<i  receives,  and  gives  it  in. 

3  [And  wilt  thou  in  dead  silence  lie, 

When  Christ  ;:;  unds  waiting  for  thy  pray'r  .' 
My  soul,  thou  hast  a  friend  on  high  ; 
Arise,  and  tri  thy  interest  there. 

4  If  pains  affii  ct,  or  wrongs  oppress — 
If  cares  distract,  or  fears  dismay — 
If  guilt  deject — if  sin  distress, 

The  remedy's  before  thee  ! — pray.] 


32 


'Tis  pray'r  supports  the  iouI  that'*  weak, 
Tho'  thought  be  broken — language  lame  ; 
Pray,  if  thou  canst,  or  canst  not  speak, 
But  Pray  with  faith  in  Jesus'  name. 

Depend  on  Christ — thou  canst  not  fail  : 
Blake  all  thy  wants  and  wishes  known  ; 
Fear  not — his  merits  must  prevail ; 
Ask  what  thou  wilt,  it  shall  be  done. 


HYMN  34. S.  M. 

1  /^  RACE  !  'tis  a  charming  sound  ! 
^-*    Harmonious  to  the  ear  ! 

Heaven  with  the  echo  shall  resound, 
And  all  the  earth  shall  hear. 

2  Grace  first  contriv'd  the  way 
To  save  rebellious  man, 

And  all  the  steps  that  grace  display, 
Which  drew  the  wond'rous  plan. 

3  [Grace  first  inscrib'd  my  name 
In  God's  eternal  book  ; 

'Twas  grace  that  gave  me  to  the  Lamb. 
Who  all  my  sorrows  took.] 

4  Grace  led  my  roving  feet, 
To  tread  the  heavenly  road  ; 

And  new  supplies  each  hour  I  meet, 
While  pressing  on  to  God. 

»       [Grace  taught  my  soul  to  pray, 
And  made  my  eyes  o'erflow  : 
'Twas  grace  which  kept  me  to  this  day? 
And  will  not  let  me  go.] 

»       Grace  all  the  work  shall  crown, 
Thro'  everlasting  days  ; 
It  lays  in  heaven  the  topmost  stone, 
And  woll  deserves  the  praise. 


33 

HYMN  3b. 104. 

1   ^T^HO'  troubles  assail  and  dangers  affright, 

-1-    Tho'  friends  should  all  fail,  and  foes  all  unite, 
Yet  one  thing  secures  us,  whatever  betide — 
The  scripture  assures  us,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

£  [The  birds,  without  barn,  or  store-house,  are  fed  ; 
From  them  let  us  learn  to  trust  for  our  bread  : 
His  saints  what  is  fitting  shall  ne'er  be  deny'd, 
So  long  as  'tis  written,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

3  We  may,  like  the  ships,  by  tempests  be  tost 
On  perilous  deeps,  b~it  cannot  be  lost ; 
Tho'  Satan  enrages  t\e  wind  and  the  tide, 
The  promise  enga^  the  Lord  will  provide. 

4  His  call  we  obey,  like  Abrah'm  of  old  ; 

Not  kn  owing  our  way,  but  faith  make  us  bold  : 
For  tho'  we  are  strangers,  we  have  a  good  guide, 
And  trust,  in  all  dangers,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

b  [When  Satan  appears  to  stop  up  our  path, 
And  fills  us  with  fears,  we  triumph  by  faith  ; 
He  cannot  take  from  us,  tho'  oft  he  has  try'd, 
This  heart-cheering  promise,  the  Lord  will  pro'ide. 

6  He  tells  us  we're  weak,  our  hope  is  in  vain — 
The  good  that  we  seek,  we  ne'er  shall  obtain  ; 
But  when  such  suggestions  our  spirits  have  ply'd. 
This  answers  all  questions,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

7  No  strength  of  our  own,  or  goodness  we  claim  ; 
Yet  since  we  have  known  the  Saviour's  great  name, 
In  this  our  strong  tow'r  for  safety  we  hide, 

The  Lord  is  our  pow'r,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

3  When  life  sinks  apace,  and  death  is  in  view, 
This  word  of  his  grace  shall  comfort  us  through  ; 
No  fearing  or  doubting,  with  Christ  on  our  side, 
We  hope  to  die  shouting — the  Lord  will  provide. 


34 

HYMN  3G.—~ L.  M. 

I   T  ASK'D  the  Lord,  that  I  might  grow 
-*    In  faith  and  love,  and  ev'ry  grace- 
Might  more  of  his  salvation  know, 
And  seek  more  earnestly  his  face. 

(,2  'Twas  he  who  taught  me  thus  to  pray, 
And  he,  I  trust,  has  answer'd  pray'r  ; 
But  it  has  been  in  such  a  way, 
As  almost  drove  me  to  despair. 

3  I  hop'd  that  in  some  favour'd  hour, 
At  once  he'd  answer  my  request  ; 
And  by  his  love's  constraining  pow'r, 
Subdue  my  sins,  and  give  me  rest. 

4  Instead  of  this,  he  mode  me  feel 
The  hidden  evils  of  my  heart, 
And  let  the  angry  pow'rs  of  hell 
Assault  my  soul  in  ev'ry  part. 

5  Yea,  more,  with  his  own  hand  he  seemM 
Intent  to  aggravate  my  woe — 

Cross'd  all  the  fair  designs  I  schem'd, 
Blasted  my  gourds,  and  laid  me  low. 

6  "  Lord,  why  is  this  ?"  I  trembling  cry'd  ; 
"  Wilt  thou  pursue  thy  worm  to  death  ??' 
"  'Tis  in  this  way,"  the  Lord  reply'd, 

I  answer  pray'r  for  grace  and  faith.  : 

7  "  These  inward  trials  I  employ, 

"  From  self  and  pride  to  set  thee  free  ; 
"  And  break  thy  schemes  of  earthly  joy, 
"  That  thou  may'st  seek  thy  all  in  me." 


HYMN  38. C.  M. 

T/f/"HEN  any  turn  from  Sion's  way. 

*  "     (Alas  what  numbers  do  !) 
Methinks  I  hear  my  Saviour  say, 

"Wilt  thou  forsake  me  to  ?" 
Ah,  Lord,  with  such  a  heart  as  mine, 

Unless  thou  hold  me  fast, 


35 

I  feel  I  must,  I  shall  decline, 
And  prove  like  them  at  last. 

2  [Yet  thou  alone  hast  pow'r,  I  know, 

To  save  a  wretch  like  me  : 

To  whom,  or  whither  could  I  go, 

If  I  should  turn  from  thee  ? 

1  Beyond  a  doubt  I  rest  assur'd, 
Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God  ; 
Who  hast  eternal  life  secur'd, 
By  promise  and  by  blood.] 

3  The  help  of  men  and  angels  join'd 

Could  never  reach  my  case  ; 
Nor  can  I  hope  relief  to  find, 
But  in  thy  boundless  grace. 

$  ¥o  voice  but  thine  can  give  me  rest, 
And  bid  my  fears  depart ; 
No  love  but  thine  can  make  me  blest, 
And  satisfy  my  heart. 

7  What  anguish  has  that  question  stirr'd. 
If  I  will  also  go  ? 
Yet,  Lord,  relying  on  thy  word, 
1  humbly  answer — no  ! 


HYMN  39. S.  M. 

T^OL'R  harps,  ye  trembling  saints, 
•*•    Down  from  the  willows  take  ; 
Loud  to  the  praise  of  Christ  our  Lord 
Bid  every  string  awake. 

Tho'  in  a  foreign  land, 
We  are  not  far  from  home  ; 
And  nearer  to  our  house  above, 
We  every  moment  come. 

His  grace  shall  to  the  end 
Stronger  and  brighter  shine  ; 
Nor  present  things,  northings  to  come, 
Shall  quench  the  spark  divine. 


3a 

The  time  of  love  will  come, 

When  we  shall  clearly  see 
Not  only  that  he  shed  his  blood, 

But  each  shall  say,  for  me. 

Tarry  his  leisure  then, 

Wait  the  appointed  hour  ; 
Wait  'till  the  bridegroom  of  your  S3uls 

Reveal  his  love  with  power. 

Blest  is  the  man,  O  God, 

Thatstnys  himself  on  thee  ! 
Who  waits  for  thy  salvation,  Lord, 

Shall  thy  salvation  see. 


HYMN  40. 7's. 

1  /CHILDREN  of  the  heavenly  King, 
^-/   As  ye  journey,  sweetly  sing  ; 
Sing  your  Saviour  s  worthy  praise, 
Glorious  in  ins  works  and  ways. 

2  Ye  are  travelling  home  to  God, 
In  the  way  the  lathers  trod  ; 
They  are  happy  now,  and  ye 
Soon  their  happiness  shall  see. 

3  O  ye  banish'!  seed  be  glad  ! 

i  Christ  our     !\  ooaie  is  made  ; 
Us  to  save,  Oil-  flesh  assumes, 
Brother  to  our  souls  becomes. 

4  Shout,  ye  little  tlock,  and  blest, 
You  on  Jesus'  throne  shall  rest ; 
There  your  seat  is  now  prepar'd, 
There  your  kingdom  and  reward. 

5  Fear  not,  brethren,  joyful  stand 
On  the  borders  of  your  land  ; 
Jesus  Christ,  your  Father's  Son, 
Bids  you  undismay'd  go  on. 

6  Lord!  suS   •.-•lie  make  us  go, 
Gladly  k      :  v;  all  below  ; 
Only  the :-,   ;   r  i eader  be, 
And  we  s.ti  i  ■>  ill  follow  Uace  I 


37 

HYMN  41. ll's. 

1  Hp HY  mercy,  my  God,  is  the  theme  of  my  song, 

-*-    The  joy  of  my  heart,  and  the  boast  of  my  tongiu 
Thy  free  grace  alone,  from  the  first  to  the  last, 
Hath  won  my  affections,  and  bound  my  soul  fast. 

2  Without  thy  sweet  mercy  1  could  not  live  here, 
Sin  soon  would  reduce  me  to  utter  despair  ; 
But  thro'  thy  sweet  goodness,  my  spirits  revive, 
And  he  that  first  made. me,  still  keeps  me  alive. 

3  Thy  mercy  is  more  than  a  match  for  my  heart, 
Which  wonders  to  feel  its  own  hardness  depart  ; 
Dissolv'd  by  thy  goodness,  I  fall  to  the  ground, 
And  weep  to  the  praise  of  the  mercy  I  found. 

4  The  door  of  thy  mercy  stands  open  all  day 

To  the  poor  and  the  needy,  who  knock  by  the  w 
No  sinner  shall  ever  be  empty  sent  back, 
Who  comes  seeking  mercy  for  Jesus's  sake. 

»  Thy  mercy  in  Jesus  exempts  me  from  hell  ; 
Its  glories  I'll  sing,  and  its  wonders  I'll  tell  ; 
'Twas  Jesus  my  friend,  when  he  hung  on  the  tree, 
Who  open'd  the  channel  of  mercy  for  me. 

m  Great  Father  of  mercies,  thy  goodness  I  own, 
And  the  covenant  love  of  thy  crucified  Son, 
All  praise  to  the  Spirit,  whose  whisper  divine, 
Seals  mercy  and  pardon,  and  righteousness  mine. 


HYMN  42. L.  M. 

4  WAKE,  my  soul,  in  joyful  lays, 
^*-  And  sing  thy  great  Redeemer's  praise 
He  justly  claims  a  song  from  me, 
His  loving-kindness,  O  how  free  ! 

He  saw  me  ruin'd  by  the  fall, 
Yet  lov'd  me  notwithstanding  all ; 
He  sav'd  me  from  my  lost  estate, 
His  loving- kindness,  O  how  great' 
4 


38 

3  Tho*  num'rous  hosts  of  mighty  foes, 
Tho'  earth  and  hell  my  way  oppose  ; 
He  safely  leads  my  soul  along, 

His  loving-kindness,  O  how  strong  ! 

4  When  trouble,  like  a  gloomy  cloud, 
Has  gather'd  thick  and  thunder'd  loud, 
He  near  my  soul  has  always  stood, 
His  loving-kindness,  O  how  good  I 

5  Often  I  feel  my  sinful  heart 
Prone  from  my  Jesus  to  depart ; 
But  tho'  I  have  him  oft  forgot, 
His  loving-kindness  changes  not. 

6  Soon  shall  I  pass  the  gloomy  vale — 
Soon  all  my  mortal  pow'rs  must  fail ; 
O  may  my  last  expiring  breath 

His  loving-kindness  sing  in  death  1 

7  Then  let  me  mount  and  soar  away 
To  the  bright  world  of  endless  day  ; 
And  sing,  with  rapture  and  surprise, 
His  loving-kindness  in  the  skies. 


#^OME  all  ye  weary  Pilgrims, 
^-^  Who  feel  your  need  of  Christ, 


HYMN  43. 7  &  6. 

*  your 
Surrounded  by  temptations, 
And  by  the  world  despis'd  ; 
Attend  to  what  I'll  tell  you, 
My  exercise  I'll  shew, 
And  then  you  may  inform  me 
If  it  be  so  with  you. 
2  Long  time  I  liv'd  in  darkness. 
Nor  saw  my  dang'rous  state, 
And  when  I  was  awaken'd 
I  thought  it  was  too  late  : 
A  lost  and  helpless  sinner, 
Myself  I  plainly  saw, 
Expos'd  to  God's  displeasure, 
Condemned  by  his  law. 


I  thought  the  brute  creation 
Was  better  off  than  me, 
I  spent  my  days  in  anguish, 
In  pain  and  misery  : 
Thro'  deep  distress  and  sorrow, 
My  Saviour  led  me  on, 
Reveal'd  to  me  his  kindness, 
When  all  my  hopes  were  gone. 
When  first  I  was  deliver'd, 
I  hardly  could  believe 
That  I  so  vile  a  sinner, 
Such  favours  should  receive  ; 
Altho'  his  solemn  praises 
Were  flowing  from  my  tongue, 
Yet  fears  were  oft  suggested, 
That  yet  I  might  be  wrong. 
But  soon  these  fears  were  banish'd 
And  tears  began  to  flow, 
That  I  so  vile  a  sinner, 
Should  be  beloved  so  : 
I  thought  my  trials  over, 
And  all  my  troubles  gone, 
And  joy,  and  peace,  and  pleasure, 
Should  be  my  lot  alone. 
But  now  I  find  a  warfare, 
Which  often  bends  me  low, 
The  world,  the  flesh,  and  Satan, 
They  do  beset  me  so  ; 
Can  one  who  is  a  Christian, 
Have  such  a  heart  as  mine  1 
I  fear  I  never  witness'd 
Th'  effects  of  love  divine. 
'  I  find  I'm  often  backward, 
To  do  my  Master's  will, 
Or  else  1  want  the  glory 
Of  what  I  do  fulfil. 
In  duties  I  feel  weakness, 
And  oftentimes  I  find 
A  hard  deceitful  spirit, 
And  wretched  wandering  mind. 


40 

8  Sure  others  do  not  feel 
What's  often  felt  by  me, 
Such  trials  and  temptations, 
Perhaps,  they  never  see  : 
For  I'm  the  chief  of  sinners, 
1  freely  own  with  Paul ; 
And  if  I  am  a  Christian. 

1  am  the  least  of  all. 

9  And  now  I  have  related 
What  trials  I  have  seen, 
Perhaps  my  brethren  know  what 
Such  sore  temptations  mean, 
I've  told  you  of  my  conflicts. 
Believe  my  friends  'tis  true, 
And  now  you  may  infqrm  me. 

If  it  be  so  with  you. 


HYMN  50. C.  M, 

1  TN  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways, 
■*-  My  journey  I'll  pursue  : 
Hinder  me  not,  ye  much-lov'd  saints. 

For  I  must  go  with  you. 

2  Thro'  floods  and  flames,  if  Jesus  lead, 

I'll  follow  where  he  goes  : 

Hinder  me  not  shall  be  my  cry, 

Tho'  earth  and  hell  oppose. 

[3  "  Stay,"  says  the  world,  ic  and  taste  awhile 
"  My  ev'ry  pleasant  sweet  ;" 
Hinder  me  not.,  my  soul  replies, 
Because  the  way  is  great. 

4  "  Stay,"  satan,  my  old  master,  cries, 

"  Or  force  shall  thee  detain  ;" 
Hinder  me  not,  I  will  be  gone — 
My  God  hath  broke  thy  chain.] 

5  Thro'  duty  and  thro'  trials  too, 

I'll  go  at  his  command  ; 


41 


Hinder  me  not,  for  I  am  bound 
To  my  Immanuel's  land. 

And  when  my  Saviour  calls  me  home? 
Still  this  my  cry  shall  be — 

Hinder  me  not — come  welcome  death- 
Til  gladly  go  with  thee. 


HYMN  51. C.  M. 

1   (\N  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand, 
^-^  And  cast  a  wishful  eye 
To  Canaan's  fair  and  happy  land, 
Where  my  possessions  lie. 

5  0  the  transporting,  rapt'rous  scene, 
That  rises  to  my  sight  \ 
Sweet  fields,  array'd  in  living  green, 
And  rivers  of  delight! 

3  There  gen'rous  fruits  that  never  fail, 

On  trees  immortal  grow  ; 
There  rocks  and  hills,  and  brooks  and  vales.. 
With  milk  and  honey  flow. 

4  When  shall  I  reach  that  happy  place, 

And  be  for  ever  blest  1 
When  shall  I  see  my  Father's  face, 
And  in  his  bosom  rest  ? 

5  FilPd  with  delight,  my  raptur'd  soul 

Would  here  no  longer  stay  : 
Tho'  Jordan's  waves  around  me  roll. 
Fearless  I'd  launch  away. 


HYMN  52. C.  M. 

1    AMIa  soldier  of  the  cross, 
•**■  A  follower  of  the  Lamb  ? 
And  shall  1  fear  to  own  his  came,, 
Or  blush  to  ipeak  his  name  ? 
4* 


42 

Are  there  no  foes  for  me  to  face  ? 

Must  I  not  stein  the  flood  ? 
Is  this  vain  world  a  friend  to  grace, 

To  help  us  on  to  God  ? 

Shall  I  be  carried  to  the  skies, 

On  flow'ry  beds  of  ease  ; 
While  others  fight  to  win  the  prize? 

And  sail  through  bloody  seas  1 

Sure  I  must  fight,  if  I  would  reign, 
Increase  my  courage,  Lord, 

To  bear  the  cross,  endure  the  shame. 
Supported  by  thy  word. 

The  saints  all  in  this  glorious  war, 
Shall  conquer,  though  they  die  ; 

They  see  a  triumph  from  afar, 
And  seize  it  with  their  eye. 

When  that  illustrious  morn  shall  rise, 
And  all  thine  armies  shine, 

With  robes  of  vict'ry  through  the  skies 
The  glory  shall  be  thine. 


HYMN  53. U's. 

f  ^OME,  brethren  and  sisters,  that  love  my  dear  Lord 
^~7  I  pray  give  attention  and  ear  to  my  word  ; 
What  wonder  of  mercy  !  behold  now  I  see, 
What  a  tender,  kind,  Saviour  has  done  for  poor  me, 

I  was  led  by  the  devil,  till  lost  and  distrest, 
I  tho't  that  in  torments  I  soon  should  be  cast : 

^eace  to  the  wicked,  but  all  misery, 
Till  by  faith  I  saw  Jesus  hang  bleeding  for  me. 

0  sinner,  said  Jesus,  for  you  I  have  died  : 
All  glory  to  Jesus  my  soul  then  reply'd  ; 
The  guilt  was  removed  my  soul  did  rejoice  ; 
The  blood  was  applied,  the  witness  and  voice. 

On  rny  low  bending  knees,  before  God  I  did  fall; 
All  glory  to  Jesus,  for  he's  all  in  all  ; 


43 

The  heart  of  this  rebel  was  bursted  in  twain, 
To  see  my  dear  Jesus  on  Calvary  slain. 

5  There  was  peace  now  in  heaven,  and  peace  upon  earth, 
The  angel's  rejoice  at  a  poor  sinner's  birth  : 
Your  sins  are  forgiven,  my  Saviour  did  say, 
O  witness,  kind  heaven,  on  this  my  birth  day. 

t»  My  soul  it  was  humbled,  I  fell  to  the  ground, 
The  time  of  refreshing  at  length  I  have  found  : 
O  Lord,  thou  hast  ravish'd  my  soul  with  thy  charms, 
Let  me  die  now  like  Simeon,  with  Christ  in  my  arm*. 


HYMN  54. 7  &  6. 

1  f\  WHEN  shall  I  see  Jesus, 
^^  And  reign  with  him  above  ; 
And  from  that  flowing  fountain 

Drink  everlasting  love  ? 
When  shall  I  be  deliver'd 

From  this  vain  world  of  sin, 
And  with  my  blessed  Jesus 

Drink  endless  pleasures  in  ? 

2  But  now  I  am  a  soldier, 

My  Captain's  gone  before, 
He's  given  me  my  orders, 

And  bid  me  not  give  o'er  ! 
His  faithful  word  has  promis'd 

A  righteous  crown  to  give, 
And  all  his  valiant  soldiers 

Eternal  life  shall  have. 

3  Tiirough  grace,  I  am  determined 

To  conquer,  though  I  die, 
And  then  away  to  Jesus, 

On  wings  of  love  I'll  fly. 
Farewell  to  sin  and  sorrow, 

I  bid  you  all  adieu  ; 
And  O,  my  friends  prove  faithful, 

And  on  your  way  pursue. 


44 

4  And  if  you  meet  with  troubles 

And  trials  ©n  your  way, 
Then  cast  your  cares  on  Jessus, 

And  don't  forget  to  pray. 
Gird  on  the  heav'nly  armour 

Of  faith  and  hope,  and  love, 
Then,  when  the  combat's  ended. 

He'll  carry  you  above. 

5  O  do  not  be  discourag'd, 

For  Jesus  is  your  friend  , 
And  if  you  want  more  knowledge, 

He'll  not  refuse  to  lend  : 
Neither  will  he  upbraid  you, 

Though  oft'ner  you  request ; 
He'll  give  you  grace  to  conquer. 

And  take  you  home  to  rest. 

6  And  when  the  last  loud  trumpet 

Shall  rend  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  bid  the  sleeping  millions 

From  their  cold  beds  arise, 
Our  ransom'd  dust,  revived, 

Bright  beauties  shall  put  on, 
And  soar  to  the  blest  mansion 

Where  our  Redeemer's  gone. 

7  Our  eyes  shall  then  with  rapture 

The  Saviour's  face  behold  j 
Our  feet,  no  more  diverted, 

Shall  walk  the  streets  of  gold  ; 
Our  ears  shall  h&dr  with  transport 

The  hosts  celestial  sing  ; 
Our  tongues  shall  chant  the  glories 

Of  oui  immortal  King. 

3  There  we  shall  reign  triumphant 
Upon  the  blissful  shore, 
And  shout  with  the  redeemed, 

"  Our  trials  all  are  o'er  ; 
"  The  wicked  cease  from  troubling,, 
"  Our  weary  souls  have  rest  j 


45 

^c  We  now  shall  live  with  Jems 

"  Eternal  ages  blest." 
We  shall  outvie  the  angels 

With  the  redeemed  throng. 
And  shout  aloud,  "  Salvation  I" 

'Twill  be  our  endless  sons;. 
They  sing  creating  goodness, 

But  we  redeeming  love  ; 
Tis  this  shall  be  our  glory 

In  realms  of  joy  above. 


HYMN  55. L.  M. 

1  ^THHE  gold  and  silver  are  the  Lord's, 

And  ev'ry  blessing  earth  affords  ; 
All  come  from  his  propitious  hand, 
And  must  return  at  his  command. 

2  The  blessings  which  I  now  enjoy, 

I  must  for  Christ  and  souls  employ  ; 
For  if  I  use  them  as  my  own, 
My  Lord  will  soon  call  in  his  loan. 

3  When  I  to  him  in  want  apply, 
He  never  does  my  suit  deny  ; 
And  shall  I  then  refuse  to  give, 
Since  I  so  much  from  him  receive  ? 

4  Shall  Jesus  leave  the  realms  of  day, 
And  clothe  himself  in  humble  clay  ? 
Shall  he  become  despis'd  and  poor. 
To  make  me  rich  forever  more  ? 

5  And  shall  I  wickedly  withhold, 
To  give  my  silver  or  my  gold  ? 
To  aid  a  cause  my  soul  approves, 
And  save  the  sinners  Jesus  loves  ? 

G  Expand  my  heart — incline  me,  Lord, 
To  give  the  whole  I  can  afford  ; 
That  what  thy  bounty  render'd  mine, 
I  may  with  cheerful  hands  resign, 


46 

HYNN  56. L.  M. 

The  Hiding  Place. 

1  TLZT  AIL,  sov'reign  love  that  first  began 
-"--*-  The  scheme  to  rescue  fallen  man  : 
Hail,  matchless,  free,  and  sov'reign  grace, 
That  gave  my  soul  a  hiding  place  ! 

2  Against  the  God  that  built  the  sky, 
I  fought,  with  hands  uplifted  high  ; 
Despis'd  the  mansions  of  his  grace, 
Too  proud  to  seek  a  hiding  place  I 

3  En  wrapt  in  dark  Egyptian  night, 
And  fond  of  darkness  more  than  light, 
Madly  I  run  the  sinful  race, 
Secure  without  a  hiding  place  ! 

4  But  lo  !  th'  eternal  counsel  ran, 
Almighty  love  !  arrest  the  man  ! 
I  felt  the  arrows  of  distress, 
And  found  I  had  no  hiding  place  ! 

5  Jehovah's  justice  stood  in  view, 
To  Sinai's  fiery  mount  I  flew  ; 

But  Justice  cry'd  with  frowning  face, 
Thio  mountain  is  no  hiding  place  ! 

6  But  lo  !  a  heavenly  voice  I  heard, 
And  mercy's  angel  soon  appear'd  l. 
He  led  me  on  a  pleasing  pace, 

To  Jesus  Christ,  my  hiding  place. 

7  Should  seven-fold  streams  of  vengeance  roll. 
And  shake  this  globe  from  pole  to  pole  : 
No  thunder  bolts  shall  daunt  my  face. 

For  Jesus  is  my  hiding  place  ! 

8  A  few  more  rolling  suns,  at  most, 
Shall  land  me  on  fair  Canaan's  coast, 
Where  I  shall  sing  the  song  of  grace, 
And  see  my  glorious  Hiding  Place. 


47 

HYMN  57. L.  M. 

1  T11IS  finish'd  !  so  the  Saviour  cry'd, 

-■-    And  meekly  bow'd  his  head,  and  died; 
'Tis  finish'd — yes,  the  race  is  run, 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won. 

2  'Tis  finish'd — all  that  heaven  decreed* 
And  all  the  ancient  prophets  said, 

Is  now  fulfilPd,  as  was  design'd, 
In  me,  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 

3  'Tis  finish'd — Aaron  now  no  more 
Must  stain  his  robes  with  purple  gore  ; 
The  sacred  vale  is  rent  in  twain, 

And  Jewish  rites  no  more  remain. 

4  'Tis  finish'd — this  my  dying  groan 
Shall  sins  of  every  kind  atone  : 
Millions  shall  be  redeem'd  from  death, 
By  this  my  last  expiring  breath. 

5  'Tis  finish'd — heaven  is  reconcil'd, 
And  all  the  powers  of  darkness  spoil'd  I 
Peace,  love  and  happiness  again 
Return  and  dwell  with  sinful  men. 

6  'Tis  finish'd— let  the  joyful  sound 

Be  heard  through  all  the  nations  round ; 

'Tis  finish'd— let  the  echo  fly 

Thro'  heaven  and  hell,  thro'  earth  and  sky. 


HYMN  58. L.  M. 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives. 

1  T  KNOW  that  my  Redeemer  lives  ; 

-*■  What  comfort  this  sweet  sentence  gives- 
He  lives,  he  lives,  who  once  was  dead, 
He  lives,  my  ever  living  Head  ! 

2  He  lives,  triumphant  from  the  grave, 
He  lives,  eternally  to  save  ; 

He  lives,  all  glorious  in  the  sky, 
He  lives,  exalted  far  on  high  1 


48 

3  lie  lives,  fo  bless  me  with  his  love, 
He  lives,  to  plead  my  cause  above  ; 
He  lives,  my  hungry  soul  to  feed 
He  lives,  to  help  in  time  of  need. 

4  He  lives,  to  grant  me  full  supplies, 
He  lives,  to  bless  me  with  his  eyes  ; 
He  lives,  to  comfort  me  when  faint, 
He  lives,  to  hear  my  soul's  complaint. 

5  He  lives,  to  crush  the  powers  of  hell, 
He  lives,  that  he  may  in  me  dwell ; 
He  lives,  to  heal  and  keep  me  whole, 
He  lives,  to  guide  my  feeble  soul. 

6  He  lives,  to  banish  all  my  fears, 
He  lives,  to  wipe  away  my  tears  ; 
He  lives,  to  calm  my  troubled  heart, 
He  lives,  all  blessings  to  impart. 

7  He  lives,  my  kind  and  gracious  friend, 
He  lives,  and  loves  me  to  the  end  ; 
He  lives,  and  while  he  lives  111  sing, 
He  lives,  my  Prophet,  Priest,  and  King. 

$  He  lives,  and  grants  me  daily  breath, 
He  lives,  to  conquer  sin  and  death  ; 
He  lives,  my  mansion  to  prepare, 
He  lives,  to  bring  me  safely  there. 

9  He  lives,  all  glory  to  his  name, 
He  lives    my  Jesus  still  the  same  ; 
O  !  the  sweet  joy  this  sentence  gives, 
"  I  know  that  nay  Redeemer  lives.'* 


HYMN  59. C.  M. 

1  (DINNERS,  this  solemn  truth  regard  ! 
^  Hear,  all  ye  sons  of  men  ; 

For  Christ,  the  Saviour,  hath  declar'd, 
"  Ye  must  be  born  again.7' 

2  Whate'er  might  be  your  birth  or  blood, 

The  sinner's  boast  is  vain  ; 
Thus  s«ith  the  glorious  Son  of  God, 
"'  Ye  must  be  born  again." 


49 

3  Our  nature's  totally  deprav'd — 
The  heart  a  sink  of  sin  ; 
Without  a  change  we  can't  be  sav'd  ; 
"  Ye  must  be  born  again." 
[4  That  which  is  born  of  flesh  is  flesh, 
And  flesh  it  will  remain  ; 
Then  marvel  not  that  Jesus  saith, 
"  Ye  must  be  born  again.'*] 

5  Spirit  of  life  thy  grace  impart, 

And  breathe  on  sinners  slain  ; 
Bear  witness,  Lord,  in  ev'ry  heart, 
That  we  are  born  again. 

6  Dear  Saviour  let  us  now  begin 

To  trust  and  love  thy  word  ; 
And,  by  forsaking  ev'ry  sin, 
Prove  we  are  born  of  God. 


HYMN  60 C.  M. 

1  PT1HE  time  is  short !  the  season  near, 

-*-     When  death  will  us  remove  ; 
To  leave  our  friends,  however  dear, 
And  all  we  fondly  love. 

2  The  time  is  short !  sinners  beware, 

Nor  trifle  time  away  ; 
The  word  of  great  solvation  hear, 
While  it  is  call'd  to-day. 

3  The  time  is  short  !  ye  sinners,  now 

To  Christ  the  Lord  submit  ; 
To  mercy's  golden  sceptre  bow, 
And  fall  at  Jesus'  feet. 

4  The  time  is  short !  ye  saints  rejoice — 

The  Lord  will  quickly  come  : 
Soon  shall  you  hear  your  Bridegroom's  voice, 
To  call  you  to  your  home. 

5  The  time  is  short !  it  swiftly  flies — 

The  hour  is  just  at  hand, 
<  When  we  shall  mount  above  the  skies, 
And  reach  the  wish'd-for  land. 
5 


50 

The  time  is  short !— -the  moment  near 
When  we  shall  dwell  above  ; 

And  he  forever  happy  there, 
With  Jesus,  whom  we  love. 


HYMN  61. L.  M. 

3    T£INDREDin  ChBSt,  for  his  dear  sake, 
A  hearty  welcof|£  here  receive  ; 
May  we  together  now  partake 
The  joys  which  only  he  can  give. 

2  To  you  and  us,  by  grace  'tis  giv'n, 

To  know  the  Saviour's  precious  name  ; 
And  shortly  we  shall  meet  in  heaven, 
Oar  hope,  our  way,  our  end  the  same. 

3  May  he,  by  whose  kind  care  we  meet, 
Send  his  good  Spirit  from  above  ; 
Make  our  communications  sweet, 

And  cause  our  hearts  to  burn  with  love. 

[4  Forgotten  be  each  worldly  them,e 
When  Christians  meet  together  thus  ; 
We  only  wish  to  speak  of  him, 
Wholiv'd,  and  dy'd,  and  reigns  for  us. 

5  We'll  talk  of  all  he  did  and  said, 
And  suffer'd  for  us  here  below  ; 
The  path  he  mark'd  for  us  to  tread. 
And  what  he's  doing  for  us  now.] 

.6  Thus,  as  the  moments  pass  away, 
We'll  love,  and  wonder,  and  adore  ; 
And  hasten  on  the  glorious  day, 
When  we  shall  meet  to  part  no  more. 


HYMN  62. C.  M. 

1   XTE  saints,  attend  the  Saviour's  voice, 
■*•    And  hear  his  words  of  grace  ; 
He  says — and  let  your  hearts  rejoice— 
"  In  me  ye  shall  have  peace." 


51 

2  Tho'  storms  and  tempests  round  you  roar, 

And  foes  and  fears  increase, 
fie  says — and  what  could  he  say  more — 
"  In  me  ye  shall  have  peace  " 

3  What  tho'  corruption  dwell  within, 

Nor  does  the  coniiict  cease  ; 
lie  says,  in  spite  of  hell  and  sin, 
"  In  me  ye  shall  have  peaUJ£" 

4  Tho'  you  must  pass  thro'  death's  cold  flood 

To  gain  your  wish'd  release, 
He  says,  and  sure  he'll  make  it  good, 
'"'  In  me  ye  shall  have  peace." 

h  When  you  his  face  in  glory  view 
Where  joy  can  ne'er  decrease  ; 
Eternity  shall  prove  ii  true, 
In  him  ye  shall  hare  peace. 


HYMN  63. 8  k,  7. 

1  "ORECIOUS  Bible!  what  a  treasure 
■*-      Does  the  word  of  God  afford  ; 
All  I  want  for  life  or  pleasure, 

Food  and  med'cine,  shield  and  sword  ; 
Let  the  world  account  me  poor, 
Having  this,  I  need  no  more. 

2  Food  to  which  the  world's  a  stranger, 
Here  my  hungry  soul  enjoys  ; 

Of  excess  there  is  no  danger, 
Though  it  fills,  it  never  cloys  ; 
On  a  dying  Christ  I  feed, 
He  is  meat  and  drin:<  indeed  ! 

3  When  my  hope  is  faint  and  sickly, 
Or  when  s.itan  wounds  my  mind  ; 
Cordials  to  revive  me  quickly, 
Healing  med  cines  here  I  find  ; 
To  the  promises  I  flee, 

Each  affords  a  remedy. 


\  62 

In  the  hour  of  dark  temptation, 
Satan  cannot  make  me  yield  ; 
For  the  word  of  consolation 
Is  to  me  a  mighty  shield  : 
While  the  scripture  truth  is  sure, 
From  his  malice  I'm  secure. 

Vain  is  the  threats  to  overcome  me, 
•When  I  take  the  Spirit's  sword  ; 
Then  with  ease  1  drive  him  from  me. 
Satan  trembles  at  the  word  : 
JTis  a  sword  for  conquest  made, 
Keen  the  edge,  and  strong  the  blade. 

Shall  I  envy  then  the  miser, 

Doating  on  his  golden  store  ? 

Sure  I  am,  or  should  be  wiser, 

I  am  rich,  'tis  he  is  poor  : 

Jesus  gives  me  in  his  word, 

Food  and  med'cine,  shield  and  sword. 


HYMN  64. 7's. 

1  TESUS,  lover  of  my  soul, 
**    Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  raging  billows  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high  ! 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  pas>t ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide  ; 

O  receive  my  soul  at  last ! 

2  Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee, 
Leave,  ah  !  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me  : 
All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stay'd, 

All  my  help  from  thee  1  bring  ; 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 


53 

3  Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want ; 

All  in  All  in  thee  1  find  : 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint, 

Heal  the  sick  and  lead  the  blind  : 
Just  nnd  holy  is  thy  name, 

1  am  ;ill  unrighteousness, 
Vile  and  full  of  sin  I  am, 

Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. 
I  Plenteous  grace  with  thee  is  found, 

Grace  to  pnrdon  all  mv  sin  ; 
Let  the  herding  streams  abound  ; 

Make  and  keep  me  pure  within, 
Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 

Freely  let  me  tnke  of  thee  : 
Spring  thou  up  within  my  heart, 

Rise  to  all  eternity, 


HYMN  65 C.  M. 

1  TT  is  the  Lord,  enthron'd  in  light, 
-*-  Whose  claims  are  all  divine, 
Who  has  an  undisputed  right, 

To  govern  me  and  mine. 

2  It  is  the  Lord,  who  gives  me  all — 

My  wealth,  my  friends,  my  ease  ; 
And  of  his  bounties  may  recall 
Whatever  part  he  please. 

3  It  is  the  Lord — should  I  distrust, 

Or  contradict  his  will  ? 
Who  cannot  do  but  what  is  just, 
And  must  be  righteous  still 

4  It  is  the  Lord,  who  can  sustain 

Beneath  the  heaviest  load, 

From  whom  assistnnce  I  obtain5 

To  tread  the  thorny  road. 

5  It  is  the  Lord,  whose  matchless  skill, 

Can  from  afflictions  raise 
Matter    eternity  to  fill 
With  ever  growing  praise. 
5* 


54 

6  It  is  the  Lord,  my  cov'nant  God, 

Thrice  blessed  be  his  name, 
Whose  gracious  promise,  seal'd  with  blood. 
Must  ever  be  the  same. 

7  His  cov'nant  will  my  soul  defend, 

Should  nature's  self  expire  ; 
And  the  great  Judge  of  all  descend 
In  awful  flames  of  fire. 

8  And  can  my  soul,  with  hopes  like  these, 

Be  sullen  or  repine  ? 
No — let  the  Lord  take  what  he  please  ; 
To  him  I  all  resign ! 


HYMN  6fS. L.  M. 

T/lfHERE  two  or  three,  with  sweet  accord. 

*  *     Obedient  to  thieir  sovereign  Lord, 
Meet  to  recount  his  acts  of  grace, 
And  offer  solemn  pray'rand  praise. 

"  There,"  saith  the  Saviour,  "  will  1  be, 

"  Amid  that  little  company  ; 

"  To  them  unveil  my  smiling  face, 

"  And  shed  my  glories  round  the  place.''* 

We  meet  at  thy  command,  O  Lord, 
Relying  on  thy  faithful  word  : 

send  thy  Spirit  from  above, 
To  manifest  thy  dying  love. 


HYMN  67. C.  M. 

"OW  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight. 
When  those  who  love  the  Lord, 
hi  one  another's  peace  delight, 
And  so  fulfill  his  word  ! 

O  may  we  feel  each  brother's  sigh, 
And  with  him  bear  a  part  : 
!  s  llow  from  eye  to  eye, 

7  from  heart  to  heart. 


55 

Free  us  from  envy,  scorn,  and  pride, 

Our  wishes  fix  above  ; 
May  each  his  brothers  fillings  hide, 

And  shew  a  brother's  love. 

Let  love,  in  one  delightful  stream, 

Through  every  bosom  flow  ; 
And  union  sweet  and  dear  esteem, 

In  ev'ry  action  glow. 
Love  is  the  golden  chain  that  binds 

The  happy  souls  above  ; 
And  he's  an  heir  of  heav'n  that  finds 

His  bosom  glow  with  love. 


HYMN  68.- 8   8  6. 

"CT7HEN  thou  my  righteous  Judge  shalt  come, 
™  *     To  fetch  thy  ransora'd  people  home, 

Shall  I  among  them  st;md  ? 
Shall  such  a  worthless  worm  as  I, 
Who  sometime  am  afraid  to  die  ; 

Be  found  at  thy  right  hand  ? 
I  love  to  meet  among  them  now, 
Before  thy  gracious  feet  to  bow, 

Tho'  vibst  of  them  all  ; 
But  can  I  bear  the  piercing  thought  ? 
"What  if  my  name  should  be  left  out. 

When  thou  for  them  shalt  call ! 
Prevent,  prevent  it  by  thy  grace  ; 
Be  thou,  dear  Lord,  m)  hiding  place, 

In  this  th'  accepted  day  : 
Thy  pardoning  voice,  O  let  me  hear, 
To  still  my  unbelieving  fear  ; 

Nor  let  nie  fall,  I  pray. 

Let  me  among  thy  saints  be  found, 
Whene  er  th'  archangel's  trump  shall  sound 

To  see  thy  smiling  face  ; 
Then  loudest  of  the  crowd  1  "11  sing, 
Whde  heavens  resounding  mansions  ring 

With  shouts  of  sovereign  grace. 


56 

HYMN  69. C.  M. 

\   f~\  HAPPY  souls,  who  dwell  above, 

^-^  In  God's  immediate  sight ; 
They  glow  with  everlasting  love. 
And  shine  divinely  bright. 

2  O  what  a  Sabbath  they  enjoy, 

Now  freed  from  ev'rysin  ; 
While  Jesus'  love  is  their  employ, 
And  endless  praise  their  theme. 

3  O  may  1  breathe  that  heavenly  air, 

And  feast  on  joys  divine  ; 
I  And  sing  and  praise  my  Saviour  there, 
And  in  his  glories  shine. 

4  '  Thy  presence  beams  eternal  day 

0>r  all  the  blissful  place  ; 
Who  would  not  drop  this  load  of  clay, 
And  die  to  see  thy  face  V 


HYMN  70. C.    M. 

Sabbath  Morning. 
J  ^"^OME,  dearest  Lord,  and  feed  thy  sheep, 
^"/   On  this  sweet  day  of  rest ; 
O  bless  thy  flock,  and  make  thy  fold 
Enjoy  an  heavenly  rest. 

?  Welcome,  and  precious  to  my  soul. 
Are  these  sweet  days  of  love  ; 
But  what  a  Sabbath  shall  I  keep, 
When  I  shall  rest  above  ! 

3  I  come,  I  wait,  I  hear,  I  pray, 

Thy  footsteps,  Lord,  I  trace, 
Here,  in  thine  own  appointed  way, 
I  wait  to  see  thy  face.' 

4  These  are  the  sweet  and  precious  days 

On  which  my  Lord  I've  seen  ; 
And  oft,  when  feasting  on  his  word. 
In  raptures  I  have  been. 


57 

5  O  if  my  soul,  when  deaih  nppears, 

In  this  sweet  fr^me  he  found  : 

I'd  clasp  my  Saviour  in  mine  arms, 

And  leave  this  earthly  ground. 

6  I  long  for  that  delightful  hour, 

When  from  this  •  lav  und rest, 
I  shall  be  cloth'd  in  rohes  divine, 
And  made  forever  blest. 


HYMN  71. S.M.  | 

Evening  Hymn. 

1  PTHHE  day  is  past  and  gone, 

-■-    The  evening  shades  appear  ; 
O  may  we  all  remember  well 
The  night  of  death  draws  near. 

2  We  lay  our  garments  by, 

Upon  our  beds  to  rest  ; 
So  death  will  soon  disrobe  us  all 
Of  what  we  here  profess. 

3  Lord  keep  us  safe  tins  night, 

Secure  from  all  our  fears  ; 
May  angels  guard  us  while  we  sleep, 
Till  morning  light  appears. 

4  And  if  we  early  rise, 

And  view  the  unwearied  sun, 
May  we  set  out  to  win  the  prize, 
And  after  g'ory  ran. 

5  And  when  our  days  are  past, 

And  we  from  time  remove, 
O  may  we  in  thy  bosom  rest, 
The  bosom  of  thy  love. 


HYMN  71. C.  M. 

Z^IOME,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove. 
^^    With  all  thy  quickening  powers, 
Kindle  a  flame  of  sacred  love 
In  these  cold  hearts  of  ours, 


58 

2  Look  how  we  grovel  here  below. 

Fond  of  these  trifling  toys  : 
Our  souls  can  neither  fly  nor  go, 
To  reach  eternal  joys. 

3  In  vain  we  tune  our  formal  songs, 

In  vain  we  strive  to  rise  ; 
Hosannas  languish  on  our  tongues, 
And  our  devotion  dies. 

4  Dear  Lord,  and  shall  we  ever  live 

At  this  poor,  dying  r  ite  ? 
Our  love  so  faint,  so  cold  to  thee, 
lft.       And  thine  to  us  so  great  ? 

5  Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  Dove, 

With  all  thy  quickening  powers  ; 
Come,  shed  abroad  a  Saviour's  love. 
And  that  shail  kindle  ours. 


HYMN   72. S.  M. 

1  |^1  OME,  we  that  love  the  Lord, 
^^    And  let  our  joys  be  known, 
Join  in  a  song  with  sweet  accord, 

And  thus  surround  the  throne. 

2  The  sorrows  of  the  mind 

Be  banish'd  from  the  place  1 
Religion  never  was  design  d 
To  make  our  pleasures  less. 

3  Let  those  refuse  to  sing 

That  never  knew  our  God  ; 
But  favorites  of  the  heavenly  King 
May  speak  their  joys  abroad. 

4  The  God  that  rules  on  high, 

And  thunders  when  he  please, 
That  rides  upon  the  stormy  sky. 
And  manages  the  seas  ; 


59 

5  This  awful  God  is  our's, 

Our  Father,  and  our  love  ; 
He  shall  send  dovn  his  heavenly  powers 
To  carry  us  above. 

6  There  we  shall  see  his  face, 

And  never,  never  sin  ; 
There,  from  th-  rivers  of  his  grace, 
Drink,  endless  pleasures  in. 

7  Yes,  and  before  we  rise 

To  that  immortal  state, 
The  thoughts  of  such  amazing  bliss, 
Should  constant  joys  create. 


Glory  begun  below  ; 
Celestial  fruits  on  earthly  ground 
From  faith  and  hope  may  grow. 

9  The  hill  of  Sion  yields 

A  thousand  sacred  sweets, 
Before  we  reach  the  heavenly  fields, 
Or  walk  the  golden  streets. 

10  Then  let  our  songs  abound, 
And  every  tear  be  dry  ; 
We're  marching  thro'  ImmanuePs  ground, 
To  fairer  worlds  on  high. 


HYMN  73. C.  BT. 

1  4  LAS  !  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed 
-^-  And  did  my  Sovereign  die  ? 
Would  he  devote  that  Sacred  head 

For  such  a  worm  as  I  ? 

2  Thy  body  slain,  sweet  Jesus,  thine, 

And  bath'd  in  its  own  blood, 

While  all  expos'd  to  wrath  divine, 

The  glorious  sufferer  stood  ! 


60 

3  Was  it  for  crimes  that  I  had  done, 

He  groan'd  upon  the  tr<°e  ? 
Amazing  pity  !  grace  unknown! 
And  love  beyond  degree  ! 

4  Well  might  the  sun  in  dnrkness  hide, 

And  shut  his  glories  in, 
When  God,  the  mighty  Maker,  died, 
For  man,  the  creature's  sin. 

5  Thus  might  I  hide  my  blushing  face, 

While  his  dear  cross  appears, 

Dissolve  my  heart  in  thankfulness, 

And  melt  mine  heart  in  tears. 

6  But  drops  of  grief  can  ne'er  repay 

The  debt  of  love  I  owe  : 
Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away  ; 
?Tis  all  that  I  can  do. 


HYMN  74. C.  M. 

^LVATION!  O,  the  joy  ful  sound! 
^  JTis  pleasure  to  our  ears  ; 
A  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound, 

A  cordial  for  our  fears. 
BuryM  in  sorrow,  and  in  sin, 

At  hell's  dark  door  we  lay  ; 
But  we  arise  by  grace  divine 

To  see  a  heavenly  day. 
Salvation  !  let  the  echo  fly 

The  spacious  earth  around, 
While  all  the  armies  of  the  sky 

Conspire  to^raise  the  sound. 


HYMN  75. C.  M. 

1  \ft7HY  should  the  children  of  a  King, 
*  *     Go  mourning  all  their  days  ? 
Great  Comforter,  descend  and  bring, 
Some  tokens  of  thy  grace. 


61 


2  Dost  thou  not  dwell  in  all  the  saints, 

And  seal  the  heirs  of  heaven  ? 
When  wilt  thou  banish  my  complaints 
And  show  my  sins  forgiven  ? 

3  Assure  my  conscience  of  her  part 

In  the  Redeemer's  blood  ; 
And  bear  thy  witness  with  my  heart, 
That  I  am  born  of  God. 

4  Thou  art  the  earnest  of  his  lore, 

The  pledge  of  joys  to  come  ; 
And  thy  soft  wings,  celestial  Dove, 
Will  safe  convey  me  home. 


HYMN  76. 12  8   U. 

The  Pure  Testimony. 
HPHE  pure  testimony  put  forth  in  the  spirit, 

Is  sharp  as  a  two-edged  sword, 
And  hypocrites  then  are  most  sorely  tormented." 

Because  they're  condemn'd  by  the  word. 
The  pure  testimony  discovers  the  dross, 
And  wicked  professors  make  light  of  the  cross,, 
And  Babylon  trembles  for  fear  of  her  loss. 

Is  not  the  time  come  for  the  church  to  be  gathered. 

Into  the  one  spirit  of  God, 
Baptiz'd  in  one  spirit  into  the  one  body, 

Partaking  of  Christ's  flesh  and  blood, 
They  drink  of  one  spirit,  which  makes  them  all  $e<- 
They're  one  in  Christ  Jesus  where  ever  they  be. 
The  Jews  and  the  Gentiles,  the  bond  and  the  free 

Then  blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  pure  testimony, 

And  let  the  world  hear  it  again  ; 
And  come  ye  from  Babylon,  Egypt  and  Sodom, 

And  make  your  way  over  the  plain 
Come  gird  on  your  armour,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord, 
And  Christ  will  direct  you  by  his  holy  word, 
The  pure  testimony  will  cut  like  a  sword. 
6 


62 

4  The  great  prince  of  darkness  is  must'ring  bis  force* 

.  To  make  you  his  servants  again, 
By  flatteries,  reproaches,  and  vile  persecutions. 
That  you  in  his  service  may  join. 
But  shun  his  temptations  whatever  they  be, 
And  fear  not  his  servants  whatever  they  say, 
The  pure  testimony  will  give  you  the  day. 

5  The  world  will  not  persecute  those  who  are  like  then* 

But  hold  them  the  same  as  their  own, 
The  pure  testimony  demands  separation, 
And  calls  you  your  names  to  lay  down. 
Come  out  of  the  spirit  and  practices  too, 
The  steps  of  your  Saviour  keep  still  in  your  view. 
By  pure  testimony  you'll  make  your  way  through. 

6  The  battle  is  coming  between  the  two  kingdoms, 

The  armies  are  gathering  around, 
The  pure  testimony  and  bold  opposition, 
Will  come  to  close  battle  ere  long. 
Then  wear  your  robes  wash'd  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb- 
And  walk  in  the  spirit  as  Jesus  has  done, 
By  pure  testimony  you  will  overcome. 

7  The  pure  testimony  of  Jesus  our  Saviour, 
".       "VViil  bring  us  to  Canaan's  land, 

The  pure  testimony  will  make  us  all  happy, 
Whenjoin'd  in  the  heavenly  band: 
Of  pure  testimony  we'll  sing  on  that  shore, 
When  all  the  redeemed  shall  join  in  one  choir- 
By  pure  testimony  our  trials  are  ef'er. 


HYMN  77. CM. 

1  AND  must  I  be  to  judgmeht  brought, 
"""       And  answer  in  that  day, 

For  every  vain  and  idle  thought, 
And  every  word  1  say  ? 

2  Yes,  every  secret  of  my  heart, 

Shall  shortly  be  made  known. 
And  I  receive  my  just  desert 
For  all  that  I  have  done. 


63 


How  careful  then  ought  I  to  lire  ! 

With  what  religious  fear  ; 
Who  such  a  strict  account  must  give 

For  my  behaviour  here  ! 

Thou  awful  Judge  of  quick  and  dead, 
The  watchful  power  bestow  ! 

So  shall  I  to  my  ways  take  heed, 
To  all  I  speak  or  do 

If  now  thou  standest  at  the  door, 

0  let  me  feel  thee  near  ! 

And  make  my  peace  with  God,  before 

1  at  thy  bar  appear. 


HYMN  78.— L.  M. Greene. 

i     A  SSEMBLED  here  in  Jesus'  name, 

■**-  We  may,  dear  friends,  the  promise  claim  ; 
That  where  a  few  together  meet, 
They  shall  approach  thy  mercy  seat. 

2  Then  to  the  skies  our  voices  raise, 
Exalt  his  nime  in  prayer  and  praise, 
Who  to  hi*  creatures  here  below, 
Does  mercy  so  resplendent  show. 

3  Then  here  let  pride  no  1  eart  possess, 
But  every  soul  free  grace  confess  ; 
Who  can  in  Christ,  their  hope  confide, 
And  trust,  for  them  the  Saviour  died. 

4  Beneath  his  feet  then  let  us  fall, 
And  learn  of  him  who  died  for  all 
That  will  for  mercy  ask,  or  pray, 
And  come  to  Christ, — the  only  way. 

5  Here  let  our  sins  be  laid  aside, 
And  look  to  him,  who  for  us  died  ; 
And  run  with  joy  the  gospel  race, 
That's  set  before  his  children's  face. 

6  Here  learn  that  boasting  is  but  vain, 
Unless  we  "  boast  a  Saviour  slain  ;" 


64 

The  author  of  exulting  faith, 
And  finisher,  the  Scripture  saith. 
Then  let  not  fe^r  of  man  have  place, 
But  humbly  sue  to  God  for  grace  ; 
That  Jesus,  in  our  hearts  would  deign. 
As  King  of  Glory,  there  to  reign. 


SAPOT&BSULXi  HYEMffg. 


HYMN  79. L.  M. 

Not  ashamed  of  Christ, 
i     TESUS  !  and  shall  it  ever  be 
**    A  mortal  man  asham'd  of  thee  ! 
Asham'd  of  thee,  whom  angels  praise, 
Whose  glories  shine  thro'  endless  days  I 

2  Asham'a  of  Jesus  !  sooner  far 
Let  evening  blush  to  own  a  star  ; 
He  s<  ;ds  U le  beams  of  light  divine, 
O'er   nis  benighted  soul  of  mine. 

3  Ash:  .n  d  of  Jesus  !  just  as  soon 
Let    ttdni  uit  be  asham'd  of  noop  ; 
'Ti?  midnight  with  my  soul  till  he, 
Hrignt  IV  o'rning  Star  !  bids  darkness  flee. 

A  A  ham 'i  of  Jesus  !  that  dear  friend 
0  a  wh  >m  my  hopes  of  heaven  depend  ! 
No  •  when  I  blush — be  this  my  shame, 
That  II  no  more  revere  his  name. 

5  Ashamed  of  Jesus  !  yes,  I  may, 
When  I've  no  guilt  to  wash  away, 
No  tear  to  wipe,  no  good  to  crave, 
No  fears  to  quell,  no  soul  to  save. 

6  Till  then — nor  is  my  boasting  vain — 
Till  then,   1  boast  a  Saviour  slain  ! 
And  O  may  this  my  glory  be, 

That  Christ  is  not  asham'd  of  me  1 


[His  institutions  would  I  prize, 
Take  up  my  cross — the  shame  despise  ; 
Dare  to  defend  his  noble  cause, 
And  yield  obedience  to  his  laws.] 


HYViN  80. 7's. 

1  ^^HRISTIAN^,  if  your  hearts  are  warm. 
^^    Ice  and  snow  can  do  no  harm, 

If  by  Jesus  you  are  priz'd, 
Rise,  believe,  and  be  baptiz'd. 

2  Jesus  drank  the  gjall  for  you, 
Bore  the  curse  to  mortals  due  ; 
Children  prove  your  love  to  him, 
Never  fear  the  frozen  stream. 

3  Never  shun  the  Saviour's  cross, 
All  on  earth  is  worthless  dross, 
If  the  Saviour's  love  you  feel, 
Let  the  world  behold  your  zeal. 

4  Fire  is  good  to  warm  the  soul, 
Water  purifies  the  foul  : 

Fire  and  w. iter  both  agree, 
Winter  soldiers  never  flee. 

9  Every  season  of  the  year, 
Let  your  worship  oe  sincere  ; 
When  the  storms  prevent  your  roam, 
Serve  vo  r  gracious  Lord  at  home. 


Read  his  sacred  word  by  day, 
Ever  Watching,  always  pray  ; 
Meditate  his  law  by  night, 
This  will  give  you  great  delight. 


HYMN  81. L.  M. 

THE  great  hedeemer  we  adore, 
VV  ho  came,  the  lost  to  seek  and  sav*  ; 
Went  humbly  down  from  Jordan's  shore.. 
To  find  a  tomb  beneath  its  wave  S 
6* 


66 


2  '  Thus  it  becomes  us  to  fulfil 

All  righteousness,'  he  meekly  said  y 
Why  should  we  then  to  do  his  will, 
Or  be  asham'd,  or  be  afraid  ! 

3  With  thee  into  thy  wafry  tomb, 

Lord  'tis  our  glory  to  descend  ; 
JTis  wondrous  grace  that  gives  us  room. 
To  lie  interr'd  by  such  a  friend. 

4  Yet  as  the  yielding  waves  gives  way. 

To  let  us  see  the  light  again  ; 
So  on  the  resurrection  day, 
The  bands  of  death  prov'd  weak  and  vam 

5  Thus  when  thou  shalt  again  appear, 

The  gates  of  heav'n  shall  open  wide  ; 
Our  dust  thy  mighty  voice  shall  hear. 
And  rise  and  triumph  at  thy  side. 


HYMN  82. C.  M. 

TTkEAU  Lord,  and  will  thy  pardoning  love 
-"-^   Embrace  a  wretch  so  vile  ! 
Wilt  thou  my  load  of  guilt  remove. 
And  bless  me  with  thy  smile  1 

Hast  thou  the  cross  forme  endur'd. 

And  all  its  shame  despis'd  ? 
And  shall  I  be  asham'd,  O  Lord, 

With  thee  to  be  bapliz'd  ? 

hou  the  great  example  lead, 
Iq  Jordan's  swelling  flood  ? 
And  shall  my  pride  disdain  the  deed 
That's  worthy  of  my  God  ? 

Dear  Lord,  the  ardour  of  thy  love 
Reproves  my  cold  delays  :  • 

now  my  willing  footsteps  move 
fn  thy  delightful  ways. 


67 

HYMN  83. C.  M. 

1  M  "PROCLAIM,"  saitli  Christ,  "  my  wondrous  grac 

-*-      "'  To  ;ill  ihe  sons  of  men  ; 
"  He  that  believes,   and  is  baptiz'd, 

"  Salvation  shall  obtain,"  v 

2  Let  plenteous  grace  descend  on  those. 

Who,   hoping  in  thy  word, 

This  day  have  publicly  declar'd 

That  Jesus  is  their  Lord. 

3  With  cheerful  feet  may  they  advance 

And  run  the  Christian  race  ; 
And,  thro"  the  troubles  of  the  way, 
Find  all-sufficient  j^race. 


mss&xssiosr  hymns, 


HYMN  84. L.  M. 

1  |~|  !  HAPPY  day,  when  saints  shall  meet 
^-*   To  part  no  more — the  thought  is  sweet; 
No  more  to  feel  the  rending  smart, 

Oft  felt  below,  when  Christians  part. 

2  O  happy  place  1  *till  rfmst  say, 
Where   >\\  but  love  is  done  away  ; 
All  cause  of  p  irtin^  t;iere  is  past ; 
Ever  their  sorial  fe  ists  will  last. 

3  Such  union  here  is  sought  in  vain, 
As  there,  in  ev  ry  he.irt,  will  reign  : 
There  separations  can't  compel 
The  saints  to  bid  the  sad  farewell. 

4  On  earth,  when  friends  together  meet, 
And  find  the  passing  moments  sweet  ; 
Time  s  rapid  motions  soon  compel, 
With  grief  to  say — dear  friends,  farewell. 

i  The  shepherd  feels  the  smarting  shock. 
Of  parting  with  his  weeping  flock  ; 


68 

His  feelings  for  them,  none  can  tell, 

When  friends  so  dear  must  say  farewell. 

The  happy  season  soon  will  come, 

When  saints  shall  meet  in  heav'n,  their  homt 

Eternally  with  Christ  to  dwell, 

Nor  e'er  shall  hear  the  sound,  Farewell. 


HYMN  85. 8  h  7. 

1  T  ORD,  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing, 
•*-"  Fill  our  hearts  with  joy  and  peace  ; 
Let  us  each  thy  love  possessing, 

Triumph  in  redeeming  grace. 
O  refresh  ns    ()  refresh  us, 
Trav'ling  through  this  wilderness. 

2  Thanks  we  give,  and  adoration, 

For  thy  gospel's  joyful  sound  ; 
May  the  fruits  Gf  thy  solvation, 

In  our  hearts  and  lives  abonnd. 
May  thy  presence,  may  thy  presence. 
With  us  evermore  be  found. 

3  So  whene'er  the  signal's  given, 

Us  from  earth  to  call  away, 
Borne  on  angel  s  win^s  to  heaven, 

Glad  the  summons  to  obey. 
May  we  ever,  may  we  ever, 
Reign  with  Christ  in  endless  day. 


HYNN  86. L.  M. 

"TJISMISS  us  with  thy  blessing,  Lord, 
-"-^   Help  us  to  feed  upon  thy  word  ; 
All  that  has  been  amiss,  forgive, 
And  let  thy  truth  within  us  live. 

Tho' we  .ire  guilty,  thon_  art  good  ; 
Wash  all  our  works  in  Jesus'  blood  t 
Give  every  fetter  d  soul  release, 
And  bid  us  all  depart  in  peace. 


69 

HYMN  81?. 8  k  G: 

1   Tjl  ARE  WELL  dear  friends,  I  must  be  gone. 
-*-     I  have  no  home  nor  stay  with  you  ; 
I'll  take  my  staff  and  travel  on, 
Till  I  abetter  world  can  view  : 
Farewell,  farewell,  farewell, 
My  loving  friends  farewell. 

2  Farewell  my  friends,  time  rolls  along, 
Nor  waits  for  mortals,  care  or  bliss, 

I  leave  you  here  and  travel  on, 
Till  I  arrive  where  Jesus  is. 

3  Farewell  my  brethren  in  the  Lord, 
To  you  I'm  bound  in  chords  of  love  ; 
Yet  we  believe  his  gracious  word, 
That  soon  we  all  shall  meet  above. 

4  Farewell  old  soldiers  of  the  cross, 
You've  struggled  long  and  hard  for  heav'a  \ 
You've  counted  all  things  here  but  dross, 
Fight  on,  the  crown  shall  soon  be  giv'n. 

Fight  on,  fight  on,  fight  on, 
The  crown  will  soon  be  giv'n. 

5  Farewell  ye  blooming  sons  of  God, 
Sore  conflicts  yet  await  for  you  : 

Yet  dauntless  keep  the  heavenly  road. 
Till  Canaan's  happy  land  you  view. 

6  Farewell  poor  careless  sinners  too  ;  ' 
It  grieves  me  sore  to  leave  you  here, 
Eternal  vengeance  waits  for  you, 

O  turn  and  find  solvation  near. 
O  turn,  O  turn,  O  turn, 
And  find  salvation  near. 


HYMN  88. L.  M. 

1   /CHRISTIAN  brethren!  ere  we  part 
v  ^^   Join  ev'ry  voice  and  ev'ry  heart, 
One  solemn  hymn  to  God  we  raise, 
One  final  song  of  grateful  praise. 


70 

2  Christians,  we  here  may  meet  no  mor< 
But  there  is  yet  a  happier  shore  ; 
And  there  releas'd  from  toil  and  pain; 
Brethren,  we  shall  meet  again. 

3  Now  to  our  God  the  Three  in  One, 
Be  everlasting  glory  done  ; 

Raise  all  ye  saints,  the  sound  again, 
Ye  nations  join  the  loud  amen. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

All  those  who  seek  a  throne  of  grace 

14 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name 

27 

Awake,  m\  soul,  in  jo\  ful  lays 

37 

Am  I  i  soldier  of  the  cross 

41 

Alas  and  did  my  Saviour  bleed 

59 

And  must  I  be  to  judgment  brought 

62 

Assembled  here  in  Jesus  name 

as 

Begone  unbelief 

5 

Beside  the  gospej  pool 

19 

Brethren  while  we  sojourn  here 

25 

Blest  is  the  tie  that  binds 

28 

Come  thou  Fount  of  every  blessing  8 

Come  humble  sinner,  in  whose  breast  28 

Come  all  ye  weary  pilgrims  38 
Come,  brethren  and  sisters,  that  love  my  dear  Lord  42 

Come,  dearest  Lord  and  feed  thy  sheep  56 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove  57 

Come,  we  that  love  the  Lord  58 

Christian  brethren  eie  we  part  09 

Christians,  if  your  hearts  are  warm  65 

Children  of  the  heavenly  King  36 

Dear  Lord,  and  will  thy  pardoning  love 

Dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing  Lord  68 


71 


Page, 


Encourag'd  by  thy  word  22 

Farewell  dear  friends,  I  must  be  gone  69 

From  whence  doth  this  union  arise  8 

Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah,  21 

Grace  !    tis  a  charming  sound  32 

Hail  the  bles'd  morn  when  the  great  Mediator  20 

Hail  sovereign  love  thnt  first  began  46 

How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours  12 

How  lost  whs  my  condition  18 

How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord  20 

How  sweet,  how  heavenly  is  the  sight  54 

I  know  that  my  Redeemer  lives  47 

I  ask'd  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow  34 

In  all  my  Loni's  appointed  ways  40 

It  is  the  Lord,   enthron'd  in  light  35 

It  shall  be  well,  let  sinners  know  29 

Jesus  and  shall  it  ever  be  64 

Jesus,  my  .til  to  heaven  is  gone  26 

Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul  52 

•  Jehovah  hath  said,  'tis  left  on  record  30 

Kindred  in  Christ,  for  his  dear  sake  50 

Lord  I  cannot  let  thee  go    .  24 

Lord  dismiss  us  with  thy  blessing  68 

O  happy  souls  who  dwell  above  56 

O  happy  day  when  saints  shall  meet  67 

O  how  happy  are  they  11 

O  for  a  closer  walk  with  God  3 
O  thou  in  whose  presence  my  soul  takes  delight        9 

On  Jordan's  stormy  banks  I  stand  41 

O  when  shall  I  see  Jesus  43 

Precious  Bible  what  a  treasure  51 

Prayer  was  appointed  to  convey  31 

Proclaim  saith  Christ,  my  wondrous  grace  <o7 


12 

Page. 

Salvation !  O  the  joyful  sound  60 

Sovereign  grace  hath  power  alone  10 

Sinners  this  solemn  truth  regard  48 

Sweet  was  the  time  when  first  I  felt  23 

The  Lord  into  his  garden  comes  4 
The  voice  of  free  grace  cries  escape  to  the  mount'n  13 

The  gold  and  silver  are  the  Lord's  45 

The  time  is  short  the  season  near  49 

The  day  is  past  and  gone  57 

The  faithless  world  promiscuous  flows  15 

The  great  Redeemer  we  adore  65 

The  pure  testimony  put  forth  in  the  spirit  61 

There  is  a  school  on  earth  begun  17 

Tho'  troubles  assail  and  dangers  affright  33 

Thy  mercy  my  God  is  the  theme  of  my  song  37 

JTis  a  point  I  long  to  know  7 

JTis  finish  d  so  the  Saviour  cry'd  47 

Vital  spark  of  heavenly  flame  23 

What  various  hindrances  we  meet  15 

When  any  turn  from  Sions  way  34 

When  thou  my  righteous  Judge  shalt  come  55 

Where  two  or  three  with  sweet  accord  54 

Why  should  the  children  of  a  king  60 

Your  harps,  ye  trembling  saints  35 

Ye  saints  attend  the  Saviour's  voice  50 

Ye  servants  of  God  30 


DOXOLOGY. 

7s. 

SING  we  to  our  God  above, 
Praise  eternal  as  his  love  : 
Praise  him,  all  ye  heavenly  host, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 


FEW 

HISTORICAL  SKETCHES 


OF  THOSE 


THAT  HAVE  HELD  OR  BORNE  TESTIMONY  THAT  BE- 

LIEVERS'  BAPTISM  IS  AN  INSTITUTION  OF 

OUR  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST, 

FROM  THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

THROUGH  EVERY  CENTURY,  TO 

THE  PRESENT  ERA. 


BY  J.    A.    BURKE. 


'*  Ye  are  my  friends,  if  you  do  whatsoever  I  command  you." — John 

xv.  14." 
"  But  when  they  believed  Philip  preaching  the  things  concerning  the 

kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were   baptized 

both  men  and  women." — Acts  viii.  12. 


PRINTED  BY  A.  N.  SHERMAN,   AT  THE  OFFICE  OF  PACKARD  &  VAN 
BENTHUYSEN. 

ALBANY: 


PHBFAOE. 


Throughout  these  Historical  Sketches,  the 
proper  appellation  by  which  each  denomination 
choose  to  be  distinguished  or  called,  will  be  strictly 
adhered  to,  and  opprobrious  epithets  in  describing 
the  character  of  individuals  or  churches,  will,  as 
far  as  possible,  be  avoided.  Therefore  claiming 
the  same  privilege  for  ourselves,  we  shall  call  that 
denomination,  who  have  professed,  and  practiced 
Believers'  Baptism,  in  whatever  circumstance,  or 
under  whatever  government  or  age  they  may  have 
existed,  by  the  name  of  Baptists. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  compiler  has  re- 
frained from  making  any  original  remarks,  farther 
than  to  introduce  or  connect  the  extracts  that  are 
taken  from  different  authors  ;  and  then  only  that 
their  own  ideas  may  be  conveyed  in  as  condense  J 
a  form  as  possible. 

The  books  from  which  these  selections  are  mad©, 
are  no  doubt  familiar  to  most  of  those  who  are  in 
the  habit  of  reading  Church  history,  except  Junius, 
Jun.  which  is  an  octavo  volume  of  230  pages,  print- 
ed in  England  above  fifty  years  since.  A  son  of  the 
author,  however,  resides  in  the  wastern  part  of  N- 
York,  as  I  am  informed  by  a  very  respectable  min- 
ister, also  a  resident  in  the  same  state. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCHES,  &<V 


THE  FIRST  CENTURY. 

And  in  those  days  shall  the  God  cf  Heaven  set  up  a  kingdom 
which  shall  never  be  destroyed,  and  the  kingdom  shall  not  be  left  n> 
other  people,  but  it  shall  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these  king- 
doms and  it  shall  stand  forever. — Dan.  2  44. 

The  time  is  fulfilled,  and  the  kingdom  of  God  is  at  band  ;  repeal 
ye,  and  believe  the  Gospel. — Jesus  Christ — JMark  1   15. 

Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand. — John  the  Bap- 
tist—Mat'. 3  2. 


The  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  tlifc 
Son  of  God,  as  it  is  written  in  the  prophets,  be- 
hold I  send  my  messenger  before  thy  face,  which 
shall  prepare  thy  way  before  thee.  The  voice  of 
one  crying  in  the  wilderness,  prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths. straight.  John  did 
baptize  in  the  wilderness,  and  preach  the  baptism 
of  repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  therB 
wTent  out  unto  him  all  [many*]  of  the  land  of  Judca, 
and  they  of  Jerusalem.,  and  were  all  Baptized  of 
him  in  the  river  of  Jordan  confessing  their  sins. — 
Mark!  1—5. 

There  was  a  man  sent  from  God,  whose  namB 
was  John. — John  i.  G. 

Saying  unto  the  people,  that  the}'  should  believe 
on  him  which  should  come  after  him,  that  is  on 
Christ  Jesus. — Acts  xix.  4. 


*  Baldwin  on  the  Baptism  of  John,  p.  42. 
1* 


In  perfect  accordance  with  the  preceding,  the 
reader  will  be  gratified  with  the  following  lumin- 
ous and  interesting  quotations  from  Dr.  Prideaux. 
This  laborious  divine,  in  explaining  Daniel's  proph- 
esy of  the  seven  iveeks,  and  the  threescore  and 
two  weeks,  or  483  years  from  the  going  forth  of 
the  commandment  to  restore  and  build  Jerusalem 
unto  Mesiah  the  Prince,  says,  u  this  brings  it  down 
to  the  year  of  the  Julian  period  4739,  which  was 
the  very  year  in  which  the  ministry  of  the  gospel 
first  began.  This,  saith  he,  Christ  executed  at 
first,  and  therein  made  his  appearance  as  the  Me- 
$jah,  by  his  forerunner,  John  the  Baptist,  for  the 
space  of  three  years  and  an  half;  and  after  that  by 
himself  in  his  own  person,  for  three  years  and  an 
half  more.  And  these  two  being  put  together  make 
up  the  last  week  of  this  prophesy,  which  began 
exactly  at  the  ending  of  the  sixty-two  weeks.  And 
therefore  the  prophecy  concerning  the  coming  of 
Mesiah  had  its  completion."  a  Luke  tells  us  (con- 
tinues Dr.  Prideaux)  the  Word  of  God  first  came 
to  John  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  Tiberius  Cesar,  em- 
peror of  Rome,  and  from  the  coming  of  that  word 
to  John,  and  his  preaching  of  it  to  the  Jews  was 
the  beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  first  appearance  of  his  kingdom  here  on  earth. 
And  this  Christ  himself  tells  us  :  for  his  words  are, 
(Luke  xvi.  16.)  '  The  law  and  the  prophets  were 
until  John,  since  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  preach- 
ed.' That  is,  the  Jewish  economy  lasted  until  the 
coming  of  John  and  his  preaching  the  baptism  of 
repentance  for  the  remission  of  sins.  But  from  the 
time  of  his  coming  on  this  ministry,  which  was  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  the  kingdom  of  the  Mesiah 
begun."*  Hence,  according  to  this  learned  writer, 
Daniel's  prophesy  concerning  the  Mesiah,  which 
has  proved  so  confounding  to  the  Jews,  andsoconv 

*  Connect,  vol.  ii.  pp.  53,  54. 


forting  to  christians,  can  only  be  explained,  by  al- 
lowing John's  ministry  to  be  the  beginning  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  consequently  a  part  of 
the  christian  dispensation. 

.  Mr.  Scott,  in  his  Notes  on  Mark  i.  1,  says,  "  This 
was  in  fact  the  beginning  of  the  gospel,  the 
introduction  of  the  New  Testament  dispensation ; 
the  opening  of  the  glad  tidings  relating  to  Jesus 
Christ  the  anointed  Saviour,  the  incarnate  Son  of 
God." 

"  The  history  of  John  the  Baptist,"  says  Dr. 
Whitby,  u  is  styled  the  beginning  of  the  gospel, 
because  he  began  his  office  by  preaching  repent- 
ance, as  the  preparation  to  receive  it,  and  faith  in 
the  Mesiah  as  the  subject  of  it." — Baldwins  Bap- 
tism of  John,  p.  16,  17. 

Then  cometh  Jesus  from  Galilee  to  Jordan,  unto 
John  to  be  baptized  of  him,  but  John  forbade  him 
saying,  I  have  need  to  be  baptized  of  thee,  and 
comest  thou  tome  ?  And  Jesus  answering,  said 
unto  him,  suffer  it  to  be  so  now,  for  thus  it  becom- 
eth  us  to  fulfill  all  righteousness,  (or  ratify  every 
divine  institution*)  then  he  suffered  him,  and  Jesus 
when  he  was  baptized  went  up  straightway  out  of 
the  water,  aud  lo  the  heavens  were  opened  unto 
him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit  of  God  descending  like 
a  dove  and  lighting  upon  him,  and  lo  a  voice  from 
heaven  saying  this  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I 
am  well  pleased — Matt.  iii.  13 — 17. 

And  John  bare  record,  saying,  I  saw  the  Spirit 
descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and  it  abode 
upon  him,  and  I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent  me 
to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,  upon 
whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  and  re- 
maining on  him,  the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth 
with  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  I  saw  and  bear  record 
that  this  is  the  Son  of  God— John  i.  32—34. 


*  Campbell. 


8 

Thus  it  becometh  us  "  We  never  find  tb.it  Je- 
sus spoke  of  himself  in  the  plural  number,  and  must 
therefore  allow  he  meant  John  also,  and  all  God's 
servants  in  a  subordinate  sense.  It  became  Christr 
as  our  surety,  and  as  our  example,  perfectly  to  ful- 
fill all  righteousness.  It  becometh  us  all  to  walk 
in  God's  commandments  and  ordinances,  without 
exception." — Scott's  Fam.  Bib.  notes  on  the  place. 

Jesus  had  no  sin  to  wash  away,  and  yet  he  was 
baptized,  and  God  owned  this  ordinance  so  far  as 
to  make  it  the  season  of  pouring  forth  the  Spirit  up- 
on him.  And  where  can  we  expect  this  sacred 
effusion  but  in  a  conscientious  and  humble  attend- 
ance upon  divine  appointments. — Dr.  Doddridge 
Fam.  Expos.  Improv.  of  the  place. 

Jesus  submitted  to  be  baptized,  that  is,  buried 
under  the  water,  by  John,  and  to  be  raised  out  of 
it  again,  as  an  emblem  of  his  future  death  and  re- 
surrection.— Dr.  M'Knight  trans,  of  Epis.  Rom. 
vi.  4. 

After  these  things,  came  Jesus  and  his  deciples, 
into  the  land  of  Judea,  and  there  he  tarried  with 
them  and  baptized. — John  in.  22. 

When  therefore  the  Lord  knew  how  the  Phari- 
sees had  heard  that  Jesus  had  made  and  baptized 
more  deciples  than  John,  though  Jesushimself  bap- 
tized not,  but  his  deciples,  he  left  Judea,  and  depart- 
ed unto  Galilee. — John  iv.    1,  2. 

He  did  not  begin  with  baptising,  but  instructing. 
He  first  taught  them  his  Gospel,  and  they  belie v 
ing  and  embracing  his  word,  became  his  deciples 
upon  which  he  baptized  them.  As  this  is  all  the 
Evangelists  have  recorded  respecting  Christ's  bap 
tising,  through  the  whole  of  his  ministry,  this  if 
consequently  all  in  which  the  practice  of  Christ  \i 
given  for  the  guide  of  his  people. 

This  is  the  method  of  the  Gospel,  that  first  men  by 
the  preaching  of  it,  be  made  deciples,  or  be  brought 
unto  faith  in  Christ  and  then  be  taught  to  do  and 


9 

observe  whatsoever  he  commands. — Dr.  Owen,  by 
Pengill y  p.  10. — Whosoever  doth  not  bear  his  cross, 
and  come  after  me,  cannot  be  my  deciple. — Luke 
xiv.  27. 

The  commandments  of  Christ  are  evident  in 
the  volume  of  the  book  in  which  they  are  some- 
times called  his  statutes,  his  laws,  and  his  ordi- 
nances, which  are  particularly  described  in  his 
commission  to  his  deciples,  "  Go  ye  therefore,  and 
teach  all  nations  baptising  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you  :  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  al- 
ways, even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Amen." — 
Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. — The  Evangelist  Mark  thus 
records  it,  "  And  he  said  unto  them,  '  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture. He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be 
saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall  be  damned.'  " 
— Mark  xvi.  15,  16. — Agreeable  to  this  we  find 
the  Apostles  went  forth,  preaching  the  word,  which 
chieflj"  consisted  in  declaring  the  Resurrection  of 
Jesus  from  the  dead.  Therefore,  [said  Peter,]  let 
all  the  house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God 
hath  made  that  same  Jesus  whom  ye  have  crucified, 
both  Lord  and  Christ.  Now  when  they  heard 
this,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said  un- 
to Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  men  and 
brethren  what  shall  we  do.  Then  Peter  said  unto 
them,  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  For  the  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your 
children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  ma- 
ny as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call.  Then  they  that 
gladly  received  his  word,  were  baptized,  and  the 
same  day  there  were  added  unto  them  about  three 
thousand  souls,  and  they  continued  steadfastly  in 


10 

the  apostles  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  break- 
ing of  bread,  and  m  prayer. — Acts  ii.  36 — 42. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  believing  converts, 
first  received  the  word  gladly — then  baptism — then 
church  fellowship,  continuing  steadfastly  in  the 
apostles'  doctrine,  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in 
prayers.  Thus  we  see  that  the  first  New  Testa- 
ment church  was  formed  of  Baptized  believers  in 
Christ. — Junius,  Jr.  p.  30. 

The  Apostles  continued  to  labor  according  to  the 
command  of  their  Lord  until  a  great  number  be- 
lieved and  were  baptized.  For  with  great  powrer 
gave  the  apostles  witness  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  great  grace  were  upon  them  all. 
The  persecution  which  arose  about  the  time  of 
Stephen's  death,  caused  [many  of]  the  disciples 
of  Jesus,  except  the  apostles,  to  leave  Jerusalem. 
They  proceeded  out  every  way,  like  the  radii  of  a 
circle  from  the  centre,  and  formed  churches  in  ma- 
ny places. — Benedict  vol.  1.  p.  8. 

There  is  no  doubt  respecting  all  the  churches 
after  the  apostles  days  being  settled,  according  to 
the  order  of  the  Gospel  Baptized  churches  at  Jeru- 
salem, for  you  see  the  church  at  Samaria,  Cesaria, 
Phillippi,  Corinth,  Gahtia,  Colosse,  and  Ephesus, 
were  all  believers,  baptized  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  since  then  through  all  ages  of  the 
Church,  there  have  been  people  of  the  same  faith 
of  believers  baptism,  and  of  the  same  order  re- 
specting the  administration  of  it,  though  perhaps 
not  under  the  name  of  Baptists,  for  in  Paul's  time, 
they  were  not  called  Baptists,  but  Christians,  or 
Disciples  of  Christ. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  35. 

In  this  (the  first)  century,  Clemons  asserts  who 
they  are,  that  are  the  proper  subjects  of  Baptism  ; 
that  they  are  such  as  have  passed  through  an  exa- 
mination and  received  instruction. ---See  Jacob  Mor- 
ningus,  in  his  Hist,  of  Bap.  p.  2,  out  of  Clement's 
Epis.  ;  also  Dutch  Martyrology. 


11 

Ignatius,  in  his  discourses  upon  Baptism,  affirms 
that  it  ought  to  be  accompanied  with  faith,  love, 
and  patience,  after  preaching — see  his  letters  to 
Polycarp,  and  his  letters  to  the  saints  of  Philadel- 
phia, for  which  see  II.  Montamus,  p.  45 — Jacob 
Du  Bois,  p.  1G — 22,  and  the  Dutch  Marty  ro  logy, 
Cent.  1. 

The  Waldenses — These  ancient  followers  of 
Christ  profess  and  practice  Believer's  Baptism  in 
this  century — seeD.  Balthazer  Lidius,  in  his  trea- 
tise of  the  Church,  p.  2  ;  Col.  2,  out  of  Rena- 
rius. — As  also  did  the  ancient  Brittons,  who  receiv- 
ed the  Gospel  in  the  reign  of  Tiberias,  by  an  Evan- 
gelist sent  by  the  Apostles — see  Gilda's  Book  De 
Victoria  Aurelii  Ambrosii — Junius,  Jun.  p.  6G. 


SECOND  CENTURY. 

Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for  righteousness  sake,  for 
theirs  is  th^  kingdom  of  Heaven.  Blessed  ate  ye  when  men  revile 
you  and  persecute  you.  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  }rou 
falsely  for  my  sake  ;  rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for  great  is 
your  reward  in  heaven,  for  so  persecuted  they  the  piophets  which 
were  before  you. — JIalt.  v.   10,   11,   12. 


It  has  been  pertinently  remarked  by  one  cf  the 
ancients,  that  the  writer  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
leaves  the  reader  thirsting  for  more.  But  concise 
as  his  naralive  is,  it  ought  to  be  regarded  as  an  in- 
valuable part  of  the  sacred  writing ;  and  for  this 
reason,  among  others,  because  it  shews  us  in  what 
sense  the  apostles  understood  the  commission  which 
their  Lord  had  given  them,  previous  to  his  assen- 
sion  into  heaven.  From  their  discourses,  record- 
ed in  that  book,  we  leain  what  were  the  doctrines 
they  preached  ;  what  the  laws  and  institutions  they 


12 

enforced  upon  the  deciples  ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  setup  his  kingdom  in  the  world. — 

Jones  p.  99. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  fofm  any  probable  con- 
jecture of  the  number  of  converts  to  Christianity  in 
the  early  ages  of  the  church,  but  it  must  have  been 
immensely  great,  for  it  is  supposed  that  three  mill- 
ion were  sacrificed  in  the  three  first  centurics>  to 
the  Pagan  persecutors.  In  these  three  first  centu- 
ries there  were  ten  general  persecutions,  formed 
by  so  many  Pagan  Emperors. 

History  scarcely  affords  an  instance  of  such  un- 
distinguished rage  exerted  against  any  people,  up- 
on any  occasion,  except  those  who  have  been  per- 
secuted for  righteousness  sake,  though  they  indeed 
have  often  been  exposed  to  similar  treatment,  both 
from  heathens,  and  professed  christians.  The  de- 
vouring sword  of  war  seldom  prays  upon  the  de- 
fenceless, upon  tender  youth,  or  hoary  age,  or  wo- 
men ;  some  bounds  are  set  by  the  feelings  of  hu- 
manity, and  the  carnage  of  a  field  of  battle  ;  but 
when  the  native  enmity  of  the  heart,  against  those 
of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy,  is  permitted  to 
act  without  restraint,  it  acknowledges  no  distinc- 
tions, it  feels  no  compassion,  but  like  the  insatia- 
ble fire  consumes  whatever  it  can  reach.  If  there 
be  some  exceptions,  a  few  persons  of  gentle  natu- 
ral dispositions  who  are  unwilling  to  shed  blood, 
and  rather  express  their  dislike  by  a  contemptuous 
pity,  this  is  chiefly  to  be  ascribed  to  the  power  of 
God  over  the  heart  of  man,  and  he  sometimes  makes 
use  of  these  to  check  the  violence  of  others.  Such 
an  one  was  Pliny  ;  he  had  no  esteem  for  Christians  ; 
he  despised  them  as  deluded  enthusiasts,  and  he 
was  angry  with  them  for  what  he  deemed  their  ob- 
stinacy ;  yet  the  greatness  of  their  sufferings,  and 
the  number  of  the  sufferers,  gave  him  some  con- 
cern, and  made  him  interfere  in  their  favor,    so 


13 

far  as  to  prevent  them  being  industriously  sought 
ought,  or  punished  without  witness  or  proof.  The 
chief  or  only  crime  of  the  christians,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  Pliny,  was  their  steadfastness  in  maintaing 
a  cause  which  the  Emperor  did  not  approve,  and 
continuing  their  assemblies  after  they  had  been  pro- 
hibited by  edict.  The  object  of  divine  worship  in 
their  assemblies  was  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  On 
a  stated  day,  that  is,  on  the  day  which  upon  this 
account  has,  from  the  apostles'  time,  been  styled 
the  Lord's  day,  they  met  early  in  the  morning,  (to 
avoid  the  notice  of  their  opposers,)  to  sing  hymns 
to  his  praise,  not  in  commemoration  of  a  mortal 
benefactor  or  lawgiver,  but  as  to  God,  acknowledg- 
ing, by  this  practice  their  firm  persuasion  of  that 
great  mystery  of  godliness,  God  manifest  in  the 
flesh,  and  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself.  May  we  be  duly  thankful  to 
God,  and  to  the  government  under  which  we  live, 
for  the  valuable  privilege  of  religious  liberty,  and 
that  Ave  can  worship  him  according  to  the  light  of 
our  consciences,  and  assemble  together  in  his  name 
when  and  where  we  please,  none  being  permitted 
to  make  us  afraid. — Newton,  vol.  6.  p.  393. 

Justin  Martyr  says,  in  his  second  Apology  Ant. 
Pius,  the  Emperor,  I  will  declare  unto  you  how 
we  offer  up  ourselves  to  God,  after  that  we  are  re- 
ceived through  Christ :  Those  among  us  who  are  in- 
structed in  the  faith,  are  brought  to  the  water  ; 
then  they  are  baptized  therein,  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ; 
then  we  bring  the  person,  thus  washed  or  baptized 
to  the  brethren,  where  the  assemblies  are,  that  we 
may  pray  both  for  ourselves  and  the  new  illumina- 
ted person,  that  we  maybe  found,  by  doctrine  and 
good  works,  worthy  observers  and  keepers  of  the 
commandments;  then  bread  and  wine  being  brought 
to  the  chief  brother,  (so  they  called  their  chief 
minister)    he   taketh  it  and   offereth   praise    and 

2 


14 

thanksgiving  to  the  Father,  in  the  name  of  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost.  After  prayer  and  thanksgiv- 
ing, the  whole  assembly  say  amen.  When  thanks- 
giving is  ended  by  the  chief  Guide  and  the  consent 
^of  the  whole  people,  the  Deacons  (as  we  call  them) 
give  to  every  one  present,  part  of  the  bread  and 
wine,  over  which  thanks  is  given  ; — this  we  call 
the  Eucharist,  to  which  no  man  is  admitted,  but 
he  that  believeth  the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  and 
lives  as  Christ  has  taught. 

Justin  Martyr  appears  to  have  been  converted  to 
Christ  about  thirty  years  after  the  apostle  John, 
when  many  that  were  witnesses  of  the  apostle's 
preaching  and  practice  were  living,  when  he  was 
beheaded  by  Verus  the  Emperor, — see  Baxter's 
Saints  Rest,  c.  viii.  §  5. 

The  manner  of  baptizing  was  by  dipping  or  im- 
mersing in  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  which  was,  as  they 
observe,  not  only  agreeable  to  the  sense  of  the 
word,  which  signifies  immersion  in  water  ;  but  to 
the  allegory  of  the  Death,  Burial  and  Resurrec- 
tion, to  which  the  apostles  Peter,  Paul  and  Anna- 
nias,  so  properly  alludes  to — Acts  ii.  3S — and  xxii. 
16 — likewise  in  Rom.  vi.  3,  4 — 1  Peter  iii.  21 — 
see  Magdeburg  Hist.  Cent.  i.  L.  ii.  c.  pp.  496,  497. 
— Junius  Jun.  p.  66. 

"  The  Waldenses,  (saysEvervinus  in  his  letter 
to  Bernard,)  say  that  they  had  great  numbers  of 
their  persuasion  scattered  almost  every  where, 
and  that  amongst  them  were  many  of  our  clergy 
and  mo  iks.  And  as  for  those  who  were  burnt, 
they,  in  the  defence  they  made  for  themselves, 
told  us,  that  this  heresy,  (so  called  by  the  Catho- 
lics) had  been  concealed  [among  them]  from  the  time 
of  the  Martyrs  (who  suffered  by  the  Pagans,)  and 
that  it  had  existed  in  Greece  and  other  countries." 

Jones,  p.  273. 


15 


THIRD  CENTURY. 


For  as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on 
Christ.—  Gal.  iii.  27. 

Therefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into  death,  that  like 
as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory  of  the  Father, 
even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of  life. — Rom.  vi.  4. 


At  the  commencement  of  this  century,  Severu9 
was  Emperor  of  Rome,  and  continued  the  same  cru- 
el persecution  against  the  christians,  that  many  of 
his  predecessors  had  done. 

At  this  time,  Asia,  Egypt  and  the  other  provin- 
ces were  deluged  with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  as 
appears  from  the  testimonies  of  Tertullian,  Cle- 
mens of  Alexandria,  and  other  writers.  It  was  this 
series  of  calamities,  during  which  Leonides,  the 
father  of  Origen,  and  Irasneus,  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Lyons,  suffered  martyrdom,  that  induced  Ter- 
tullian to  write  his  Apology,  and  several  other  books 
in  defence  of  the  Christians. 

The  mention  of  Tertullian  naturally  directs  our 
attention  to  the  progress  of  Christianity,  in  a  region 
which  we  had  hitherto  no  occassion  to  notice,  viz. 
the  Roman  province  of  Africa.  This  whole  coun- 
try, once  the  scene  of  Carthagenian  greatness, 
abounded  with  christians  in  the  second  century, 
though  of  the  manner  in  which  the  gospel  was  in- 
troduced, and  of  the  proceedings  of  its  first  preach- 
ers there,  we  have  no  account.  A  numerous  church 
existed  at  Carthage  in  the  latter  end  of  the  second 
and  beginning  of  the  third  century,  of  which  Ter- 
tullian was  one  of  the  pastors.  He  may  be  said  to 
have  flourished  from  the  year  194  to  220.  His 
Apology  for  the  christians  is  an  invaluable  treatise  ; 
it  exhibits  a  most  pleasing  view  of  the  spirit  and 
behaviour  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  at  that  time,  and 
of  their  adherence  to  the  faith,  order  and  discipline 
of  the  churches  planted  by  the  apostles* 


16 

We  are  a  body,  (says  Tertullian,)  united  in  one 
bond  of  religion,  discipline,  and  hope.  We  meet 
in  our  assemblies  for  prayer.  We  are  compelled 
to  have  recourse  to  divine  oracles  for  caution  and 
recollections  on  all  occasions.  We  nourish  our 
faith  by  the  word  of  God,  we  erect  our  hope,  we 
fix  our  confidence,  we  strengthen  our  discipline, 
by  repeatedly  inculcating  precepts,  exhortations, 
corrections,  and  by  excommunication  when  it  is 
needful.  This  last  as  being  in  the  sight  of  God,  is 
of  great  weight ;  and  is  a  serious  warning  of  the 
future  judgment,  if  any  one  behave  in  so  scandalous 
a  manner  as  to  be  debarred  from  holy  communion. 
Those  who  preside  among  us  are  elderly  persons, 
not  distinguished  for  opulence,  but  worthiness  of 
character.  Every  one  pays  something  into  the 
public  chest  once  a  month,  or  when  he  pleases,  and 
according  to  his  ability  and  inclination,  for  there  is 
no  compulsion.  These  gifts  are,  as  it  were  the 
deposit  of  piety.  Hence  we  relieve  and  bury  the 
needy,  support  orphans  and  decrepit  persons  ;  those 
who  have  suffered  shipwreck,  and  those  who,  for 
the  word  of  God,  are  condemned  to  the  mines  or 
imprisonment.  This  very  charity  of  ours  has  caus- 
ed us  to  be  noticed  by  some  :  See,  say  they,  how 
these  Christians  love  one  another. — Jones,  pp.  136 
138. 

From  writers  of  unquestionable  authority,  it  is 
evident,  that  the  primitive  christians  continued  to 
baptize  in  rivers,  pools,  and  baths,  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  third  century.  Justin  Martyr  says, 
that  they  went  with  the  catechumens  to  a  place 
where  there  was  water,  and  Tertullian  adds,  that 
the  candidates  for  baptism  made  a  profession  of 
faith  twice,  once  in  the  church,  and  then  again 
when  they  came  to  the  water,  and  it  was  quite  in- 
different whether  it  were  the  sea,  or  a  pool,  a  lake, 
qv  a  river,  or  a  bath.     Such  are  the  accounts  giver* 


17 

by  Justin  Martyr  in  his  Apology,  and  by  Tertullian 
on  bantism  as  quoted  by  Robinson. — Benedict,  v. 
1  p.  53. 

The  first  mention  of  Infant  Baptism,  is  by  Ter- 
tullian, and  he  opposed  it.  His  words  are,  "  The 
delay  of  baptism,  may  be  more  advantageous,  either 
on  account  of  the  condition,  disposition,  or  age  of 
any  person,  especially  in  reference  to  little  chil- 
dren. For  what  necessity  is  there  that  the  spon- 
sors should  be  brought  into  danger,  because  either 
they  themselves  may  fail  of  their  promises  by  death, 
or  be  deceived  by  the  growth  of  evil  dispositions, 
[in  their  children.]  The  Lord  indeed,  says, c  Don't 
forbid  them  to  come  to  me.'  Let  them,  therefore, 
come,  when  they  are  grown  up ;  when  they  can  un- 
derstand ;  when  they  are  taught  to  what  they  are 
to  come.  Let  them  become  christians  when  they 
can  know  Christ.  Why  should  this  innocent  age 
hasten  to  [the  sign  of  ]  the  remission  of  sins?  Men 
act  more  cautiously  in  worldly  things,  so  that  divine 
things  are  here  entrusted  with  those  whom  earthly- 
things  are  not.  Let  them  know  how  to  seek  salva- 
tion, that  you  may  appear  to  give  to  one  that  ask- 
eth, — Rob.  Hist.  Bap.  translated  by  Pengilly,  p.  37. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  this  answered  Tertulli- 
an's  end,  and  prevented  what  had  only  been  pro- 
posed, the  baptism  of  minors,  and  it  is  absolutely 
certain  that  about  six  years  after,  Tertullian  joined 
the  very  people  against  whom  he  had  written  this 
book,  and  the  baptism  of  children  is  not  once  men- 
tioned again  till  at  least  forty  years  after. — Robi- 
6on's  Hist.  Bap.  p.  172. 

Origen,  was  a  native  of  Alexandria  ;  he  flourish- 
ed in  the  third  century.     He  was  a  man  of  sober 
morals,  but  he  was  an  eccentrical  genius,  and  his 
theological  speculations  were  the  most  wild  and  ex- 
avagant  in  the  world.     Two  sorts  of  his  works 
emain  ;  the  one  genuine  Greek  fragments,  the 
ether   pretended  Latin  versions  of  the  remainder 
2* 


18 

of  his  Greek  originals,  which  are  lost.  The  genu- 
ine Greek  works  contain  nothing  in  favor  of  Infant 
Baptism,  but  on  the  contrary,  baptism  is  always 
spoken  of  in  relation  to  the  adult.*  The  spurious 
Latin  pieces  do  speak  in  favor  of  infant  baptism, 
but  they  scent  strongly  of  forgery,  and  seem  to 
have  been  written  after  the  Palagian  controversy.! 
Perhaps  the  vague  sense  of  the  word  may  have 
been  the  innocent,  or  it  may  be  the  guilty  cause  of 
these  apparent  contradictions.  Even  Dr.  Wall  ex- 
poses the  partiality  of  Sir  Peter  King,  for  quoting 
a  mutilated  passage  from  the  genuine  works  of  Ori- 
gen,  in  favor  of  the  baptism  of  babes  as  the  apostle 
Peter  had  addressed  in  his  first  epistle,  new  born 
babes,  laying  aside  all  evil  speakings,  and  desiring 
the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  they  may  grow 
thereby 4  Indeed  it  is  impossible  to  quote  any- 
thing conclusive,  in  favor  of  modern  infant  bap- 
tism fromOrigen ;  because,  as  he  held  the  pre-exist- 
ence  of  human  souls  before  they  were  born  into 
the  world,  and  before  they  were  united  to  the  bo- 
dy, had  heard,  and  had  been  taught  of  the  Fa- 
ther^ 

Irseneus,  who  lived  in  the  second  century,  is  re- 
presented as  saying,  "  The  Church  received  a  tra- 
dition from  the  apostles  to  administer  baptism  to 
little  Children  or  Infants."  But  Dr.  John  Gill 
challenged  the  whole  literary  world  to  produce  such 
a  passage  from  his  writings.  It  was  afterwards  ac- 
knowledged that  Origen  of  the  third  century,  and 
not  Irseneus  of  the  second,  was  the  writer  intend- 
ed.— Benedict.  Hist.  Bap.  v.  1,  p.  55. 

Fidus  wrote  to  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  in 

*  Dr.  Gales  Reflections  on  Mr.  Wall's  Hist,  of  Infant  Baptism, 
Let.  xiii. 

t  Tombes  Examen— Rob.  Hist.  Bap.  p.  207. 

%  Dr.  Wall's  Hist,  of  Inf 't.  Bap.,  Part  i.  c.  v  $  9. 
*  §  Orig.  Com.  On  Johan. — Gale.  Let.  vii.  John  vi.  45 — Rob.  Hist. 
Bap.  p.  207 


19 

Africa,  to  know  whether  children  might  be  Bap- 
tized before  they  were  eight  days  old,  for  by  his 
bible  he  could  not  tell,  nor  could  Cyprian  tell  with- 
out consulting  a  council.  When  convened,  the 
letter  by  Fidus  was  read,  but  as  it  is  lost,  a  judg- 
ment of  it  can  only  be  formed  by  what  Cyprian  hath 
said  of  it.  It  is  not  known  who  Fidus  was..  The 
precise  question  before  the  association  was,  at  what 
age  may  Infants  be  baptized  ?  Fidus  thought  at  eight 
days  old,  because  the  law  of  circumcision  prescribes 
this  time.  No,  replied  the  council,  "  God  denies 
grace  to  none,  Jesus  came  not  to  destroy  men's 
lives,  but  to  save  them,  and  we  ought  to  do  all  we 
can  to  save  our  fellow  creatures.  Besides,  added 
they,  God  would  be  a  respector  of  persons,  if  he 
denied  to  infants,  what  he  grants  to  adults.  Did 
not  the  prophet  Elisha  lay  upon  a  child,  and  put 
his  mouth,  upon  his  mouth,  and  his  eyes,  upon  his 
eyes,  and  his  hands,  upon  his  hands  ?  Now  the 
spiritual  sense  of  this  is,  that  infants  are  equal  to 
men  ;  but  if  you  refuse  to  baptize  them,  you  de- 
stroy this  equality  and  are  partial. 

The  whole,  however,  it  is  expressly  said,  was 
conducted  by  a  rule  written  in  the  book  of  Samuel, 
not  as  a  rule  even  for  Jesus,  but  as  an  [account]  of 
ancient  history.  This  mistake  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  the  source  of  almost  all  the  errors  of 
those  times.  The  teachers  acted  the  part  of  Eli, 
and  became  priests.  The  people  acted  that  of  El- 
kanah  and  Hannah,  and  dedicated  their  children 
to  God.  The  children  thought  themselves  extra- 
ordinary persons,  and  acted  the  part  of  Samuel, 
and  in  process  of  time,  behold  !  like  Samuel, 
they  made  and  unmade  kings  ;  distracting  and 
dethroning  Sauls,  anointed  Davids,  and  hewing 
Agags  to  pieces  before  the  Lord.  Hence  the 
divine  right  of  kings,  for  God  always  spoke  (say 
they)  by  his  servants,  the  priests  :  and  hence  unc- 
tion by  the  clergy  to  this  day.— Extracts  from  Rob. 
Hist,  Bap.  pp.  108  to  193. 


20 

Mr.  Baxter  is  pleased  to  give  us  this  further  ac- 
count respecting  baptism — That  "  Tertullian,  Ori- 
gen  and  Cyprian,  who  lived  in  the  second  and  third 
centuries,  do  affirm,  that  in  the  primitive  times 
none  were  baptized,  but  such  as  engaged  them- 
selves to  obey  him. — Saints  Rest,  P.  i.  c.  viii.  §  5. 

Novation,  withdrew  from  the  church  of  Rome  the 
middle  of  this  century,  formed  a  puritan  church, 
and  was  elected  bishop.  Great  numbers  followed 
his  example,  and  all  over  the  empire  puritan  church- 
es were  constituted,  and  flourished  through  the  suc- 
ceeding two  hundred  years.  He  saw  with  extreme 
pain,  the  depravity  of  the  Catholic  Church,  for  in 
seasons  of  prosperity,  many  persons  rushed  into 
the  church  for  base  purposes.  In  times  of  adversi- 
ty they  denied  the  faith,  and  turned  again  to  idola- 
try. The  bishops,  fond  of  proselytes,  encouraged 
all  this,  for  the  sake  of  adding  to  their  numbers  ; 
— afterwards,  when  penal  laws  obliged  them  to 
lurk  in  corners,  and  worship  God  in  private,  they 
were  distinguished  by  a  variety  of  names,  and  a 
succession  of  them  continued  until  the  reformation. 
— Jones,  pp.  180,  181. 

As  for  the  Waldenses,  (says  Beza,)  I  may  be 
permitted  to  call  them  the  very  seed  of  the  primi- 
tive and  purer  Christian  church,  since  they  are 
those  that  have  been  upheld,  as  is  abundantly  mani- 
fest, by  the  wonderful  providence  of  God,  so  that 
neither  those  endless  storms  and  tempests  by  which 
the  whole  Christian  world  has  been  shaken  for  so 
many  succeeding  ages,  and  the  western  parts  at 
length  so  miserably  oppressed  by  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  falsely  so  called  ;  nor  those  horrible  perse- 
cutions which  have  been  expressly  raised  against 
them,  were  ever  able  so  far  to  prevail  as  to  make 
them  bend,  or  yield  a  voluntary  subjection  to  the 
Roman  tyranny  and  idolatry. — Preface  to  Morland'a 
Hist.  p.  7 — Jones  p.  343. 


21 

FOURTH  CENTURY* 

Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you  through  philosophy  and  vain  de- 
ceit, afnr  the  traditions  of  men,  after  the  rudiments  of  the  world, 
and  not  after  Christ. —  Col.  ii.  8. 


In  the  early  part  of  this  century,  Constantine  (the 
great)  removed  the  persecuting;  edicts  against  the 
christians,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  which  took 
place  22  May  337,  was  a  decided  supporter  of  the 
cause  of  Christ. 

The  extraordinary  occurrences  of  the  Ufa  of 
Constantine  produced  an  entire  change  in  the.  whole 
of  the  Christian  profession.  Its  friends  were  now 
no  longer  called  to  endure  patiently  the  hatred  of 
the  world — to  take  up  their  cross,  and  press  after 
a  conformity  to  Christ  in  his  sufferings^  and  thro' 
much  tribulation,  to  enter  his  kingdom  ;  but  they 
were  to  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  wo?  Idly  pro  erity, 
enjoying  the  smiles  of  the  great,  and  connecting 
with  their  professions  the  riches  and  honor  of  this 
present  world — the  baneful  effects  of  which  began 
speedily  to  develope  themselves.  So  long  as  the 
Christians  were  persecuted  by  the  heathen  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith  and  practices,  they  were  driv- 
en to  the  gospel  as  their  only  source  of  consolation 
and  support;  and  they  found  it  everyway  sufficient 
for  their  utmost  need.  The  animating  principles 
which  it  imparted,  raised  their  minds  superior  to 
the  enjoyments  of  this  world,  and  in  the  hope  of 
life  and  immortality,  they  were  happy,  even  if  call- 
ed to  lay  down  their  lives  for  the  sake  of  their  pro- 
fession. And  herein  the  power  of  their  religion 
was  conspicuous.  It  was  not  with  them  an  empty 
speculation,  floating  in  the  mind,  destitute  of  any 
influence  upon  the  will  and  the  affections.  While 
it  induced  them  to  count  no  sacrifice  too  costly 
which  they  were  called  to  make  for  the  gospel's 
sake,  they  were  led  by  it  to  exercise  the  most  fer- 
vent christian  affection  one  towards   another — to 


22 

sympathize  tenderly  with  each  other  in  all  their 
sorrows  and  distresses — and,  by  bearing  one  an- 
other's burdens  they  fulfilled  their  Lord's  new  com- 
mand of  brotherly  love.  This  was  the  prominent 
feature  in  Christianity  during  the  first  three  centu- 
ries. The  writings  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists 
all  breathe  this  amiable  spirit,  and  abound  with  ex- 
hortations to  cultivate  this  God-like  disposition  ; 
and  so  conspicuous  was  the  exercise  of  it  among 
the  primitive  christians,  that  it  was  commonly  re- 
marked by  their  enemies,  and  recommended  by 
them  as  worthy  of  imitation. 

But  now  they  began  to  new-model  the  christian 
church,  the  government  of  which  was,  as  far  as 
possible,  arranged  conformably  to  the  government 
of  the  state.  The  emperor  himself  assumed  the 
title  of  bishop — and  claimed  the  power  of  regula- 
ting its  external  affairs  ;  and  he  and  his  successors 
convened  councils,  in  which  they  presided,  and 
determined  all  matters  of  discipline.  The  bishops 
corresponded  to  those  magistrates  whose  jurisdic- 
tion was  confined  to  single  cities  ;  the  metropolitans 
to  the  pro-consuls  or  presidents  of  provinces  ;  the 
primates  to  the  emperor's  vicars,  each  of  whom 
governed  one  of  the  imperial  provinces.  Canons 
and  prebendaries  of  cathedral  churches  took  their 
rise  from  the  societies  of  ecclesiastics,  which  Eu- 
sebius,  bishop  of  Verceil,  and  after  him  Augustine, 
formed  in  their  houses,  and  in  which  these  prelates 
were  styled  their  fathers  and  masters. — Jones  pp. 
163,  165,  166. 

iEneas  Sylvius,  afterwards  Pope  Pius  II.,  says, 
that  the  first  error  of  the  Waldenses  is,  that  they 
affirm  that  the  church  of  Rome  is  not  the  church  of 
Jesus  Christ,  but  an  assembly  of  ungodly  men,  and 
that  she  has  ceased  from  being  the  true  church, 
from  the  time  of  Pope  Sylvester,  (in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury) at  which  time  the  poison  of  temporal  advanta- 
ges was  cast  into  the  church. — Jones  p.  315. 


23 

Jerome  upon  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20,  says,  the 
Lord  commanded  his  apostles  that  they  should  first 
instruct  and  teach,  all  nations,  and  afterwards  should 
baptize  those  that  were  instructed  in  the  mysteries 
of  the  faith,  for  it  cannot  be,  saith  he,  that  the  bo- 
dy should  receive  the  ordinance  of  baptism  before 
the  soul  has  received  the  true  faith. — Junius,  Jun. 
page  66. 

The  Novatians  said  "you  may  be  ad  mi  ted  among 
us  by  baptism  ;  or  if  any  Catholic  has  baptized  you 
before,  by  re-baptism  ;  but  if  you  fall  into  idolatry, 
we  shall  separate  you  from  our  communion,  and  on 
no  account  re-admit  you.  God  forbid  we  should 
injure  either  your  persons,  your  property,  or  your 
character,  or  even  judge  of  the  truth  of  your  re- 
pentance cr  future  state  ;  but  you  can  never  be 
re-admitted  to  our  community  without  giving  up  the 
last  and  only  coersive  guardians  we  have  of  the  puri- 
ty of  our  fellowship." — Jones,  p.  181. 

It  is  remarked  that  in  the  fourth  century,  the 
baptism  of  Infants  .had  made  such  little  progress, 
that  not  only  great  men  and  princes,  but  even  those 
of  believing  parents,  were  not  baptized,  till  aged, 
and  capable  of  declaring  their  faith  in  the  Mesiah  : 
viz.  Basil,  Gregory,  Nazianzen,  Ambrose,  Chrys- 
istom,  Jerom,  Austin,  Constantine,  and  Theodo- 
sius. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  68. 

The  Waldenses. — Reinerius.,  who  flourished 
about  the  year  1254,  and  whose  testimony  is  the 
more  remarkable,  as  he  was  a  Dominican,  and  In- 
quisitor General,  says,  "  Among  all  the  sects  which 
still  are,  or  have  been,  there  is  not  any  more  per- 
nicious to  the  church  than  the  Leonists,  (a  branch 
of  the  Waldenses) ;  and  this  for  three  reasons.  The 
first  is,  because  it  is  older,  for  some  say  that  it 
hath  endured  from  the  time  of  Pope  Sylvester, 
others  from  the  time  of  the  apostles.  "—Bishop  New- 
ton on  the  prophesies,  v.  2,  p.  259. 


24 


FIFTH  CENTURY. 


For  I  am  jealous  over  yo^i  with  Godly  jealous}'  ; — for  I  have  e3* 
pouserl  you  to  one  husband,  that  I  may  present  you  as  a  chaste 
virgin  to  Christ ; — hut  I  fear,  lest  by  any  means,  as  the  Serpent  be- 
guiled Eve  through  his  subtlety,  so  your  minds  should  be  corrupted 
from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ. — 2  Cor.  ii.  2,  3. 


The  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ  gave  many  intima- 
tions in  their  writings  of  the  corruptions  which 
should  arise  under  the  christian  profession  at  a  fu- 
ture period.  There  were  not  wanting  symptoms 
of  this,  even  in  their  own  days,  as  appears  from 
the  following  passages.  When  the  apostle  Paul 
delivered  to  the  elders  of  the  church  at  Ephesus,  a 
solemn  warning  to  take  heed  to  themselves  and  to 
the  flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made 
them  overseers,  he  adds,  as  the  reason  of  it,  "  for 
I  know  this,  that  after  my  departure  shall  grevious 
wolves  enter  in  among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock  ; 
also  of  your  own  selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking 
perverse  things,  to  draw  away  disciples  after  them." 
Acts  xx.  29,  30. 

While  the  long  and  harrassing  persecutions, 
which  were  carried  on  by  the  Pagan  Roman  em- 
perors, continued,  and  all  secular  advantages  were 
on  the  side  of  Paganism,  there  was  little  encour- 
agement for  any  one  to  embrace  Christianity,  who 
did  not  discover  somewhat  of  its  truth  and  excel- 
lence. Many  of  the  errors,  indeed,  of  several  cen- 
turies, the  fruit  of  vain  philosophy,  paved  the  way 
for  the  events  which  followed  ;  but  the  hindrance 
was  not  effectually  removed,  until  Constantine,  the 
emperor,  on  professing  himself  a  christian,  under- 
took to  convert  the  kingdom  of  Christ  into  a  king- 
dom of  this  wrorld,  by  exalting  the  teachers  of  Chris- 
tianity to  the  same  state  of  affluence,  grandeur,  and 
influence  in  the  empire  as  had  been  enjoyed  by 
Pagan  priests  and  secular  officers  in  the  state.  The 
professed  ministers  of  Jesus  now  having  a  wide  field 


25 

opened  to  them  for  gratifying  their  lust  of  power, . 
wealth,  and  dignity,  the  connection  between  the 
Christian  faith  and  the  cross  was  at  an  end.     What 
followed  was  the  kingdom  of  the  clergy,  supplant- 
ing the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  in  what  language 
the  apostle  describes  the  revelation  of  the  man  of 
sin,  when  this  hindrance,  or  let,  should  be  remov- 
ed. '  And  then  shall  that  wicked  be  revealed, — 
whose  coming  is  after  the  working  of  Satan,  with 
all  power,  and  signs,  and  lying  wonders,  and  with 
all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness  in  them  that 
perish.'  He  had  before  described  this  power,  and 
personified  him  as  4  the  son  of  perdition,  who  op- 
poseth  and  exalteth  himself  above  all  that  is  called 
God,  or  that  is  worshipped  ;  so  that  he  as  God,  sit- 
teth  in  the  temple  of  God  shewing  himself  that  he 
is  God.'— Jones  Ch.  Hist.  p.  154,   157. 

In  this  century,  in  the  year  416,  a  council  was 
convened  at  Mela,  which  said  it  is  the  pleasure  of 
the  bishops  to  order  that  whosoever  denieth  that 
Infants  newly  born  of  their  mothers  are  to  be  bap- 
tized, or  saith  that  baptism  is  administered  for  the 
remission  of  their  own  sins,  but  not  on  account  of 
original  sin  derived  from  Adam,  and  to  be  expiated 
by  the  laver  of  Regeneration,  be  accursed. — Rob. 
Hist.  Bap.  p.  202. 

The  Waldenses  in  their  description  of  Anti- 
Christ,  say,  '  He  teaches  to  baptize  Children  into 
the  faith  and  attributes  to  them  the  work  of  regen- 
eration, thus  confounding  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  regeneration,  with  the  external  rite  of 
baptism,  and  on  this  foundation  bestows  orders,  and 
indeed  grounds  all  his  Christianity.  He  places  all 
religion  and  holiness  in  going  to  mass,  and  has  min- 
gled together  all  description  of  ceremonies,  Jewish, 
Heathen  and  Christian. — Jones  p.  328. 

Chrisostom  says,  that  the  time  of  grace  or  con- 
version, was  the  onlv  fit  time  for  baptism  ;  which, 
3 


26 

says  he,  was  the  season  in  which  three  thousand 
in  Acts  2,  and  others  afterwards,  were  baptized. 
And  again  he  says,  the  principal  thing  in  baptism 
to  be  looked  after  is  the  Spirit, — see  Magd.  Cent. 
5,  p.  363. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  75. 

The  Novations. — Their  doctrinal  sentiments  ap- 
pear to  have  been  very  scriptural,  and  the  disci- 
pline of  their  churches  rigid  in  the  extreme.  They 
were  the  first  class  of  Christians  who  obtained  the 
name  of  (Cathari)  Puritans  ;  an  appellation  which 
does  not  appear  to  have  been  chosen  by  themselves, 
but  applied  to  them  by  their  adversaries,  from  which 
we  may  reasonably  conclude  that  their  manners 
were  simple  and  irreproachable. 

The  vast  extent  of  this  seet,  says  Dr.  Lardner, 
is  manifest  from  the  names  of  the  authors  who  have 
mentioned  them,  or  written  against  them,  and  from 
the  several  parts  of  the  Roman  empire  in  which  they 
were  found, — Jones,  181,  183. 

Novation  appears  to  have  been  possessed  of  con- 
siderable talents — Mosheim  terms  him  "  A  man  of 
uncommon  learning  and  eloquence  !" 

The  Waldenses  had,  like  the  ancient  Brittons, 
erected  colleges  or  places  where  they  united  and 
lived  in  large  bodies  or  assemblies,  among  whom 
many  were  appointed  to  teach  and  preach  the  gos- 
pel. [At  that  time  Pelagius  appeared,  and  said  "that 
children  were  born  as  innocent  as  Adam  was  crea- 
ted," instead  of  all  being  born  under  sin,  and  that 
we  all  go  astray  from  the  womb  speaking  lies.]  The 
ancient  Brittons  to  suppress  this  error  sent  to  their 
brethren  in  France,  who  sent  them  Germanus  and 
Lupus,  who  were  mighty  in  the  scriptures,  and 
were  not  only  serviceable  to  suppress  the  error, 
but  were  very  useful  in  the  conversion  of  many, 
and  they  baptized  great  multitudes  upon  confession 
of  faith,  in  a  river  near  Chester.— Junius,  Jun.  p.  41. 
A.  D.  about  420. 


27 


SIXTH  CENTURY. 


And  John  also  was  baptizing  in  iEnon,  near  to  Salini,  because 
there  was  biuch  water  there  ;  and   they  came  and  were  baptized. 

John  iii.  23. 


Christians  at  f>rst  baptized  in  rivers  and  fords,  and 
wherever  water  of  sufficient  depth  could  be  found. 
About  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  baptistries 
began  to  be  built.  They  at  first,  like  the  manners 
and  conditions  of  the  people,  were  very  simple, 
and  merely  for  use  ;  but  in  the  end  they  arose  to 
as  high  a  degree  of  elegant  superstition,  as  enthusi- 
asm could  invent. 

To  the  account  of  the  baptistry  at  the  church  at 
St.  Sophia,  of  Constantinople,  I  will  subjoin  the 
following  extracts  from  the  discourses  of  Basil, 
archbishop  of  Csesarea,  which  may  serve  to  show 
both  how  and  for  what  purpose  they  baptized  in 
the  Greek  established  church,  in  the  fourth  centu- 

■7' 

"  It  is  necessary  for  the  perlection  ot  a  christian 

life,  that  we  should  imitate  Christ ;  not  only  such 
holy  actions  and  dispositions,  as  lenity,  modesty, 
and  patience,  which  he  exemplified  in  his  life,  but 
also  in  his  death,  as  Paul  saith,  'lama  follower 
of  Christ,  I  am  conformable  to  his  death,  if  by  any 
means  I  might  attain  to  the  resurection  of  the 
dead.'  How  can  we  be  placed  in  a  condition  of 
likeness  to  his  death  ?  By  being  buried  with  him 
in  baptism"  &c.  Nothing  like  this  is  to  be  found 
in  the  Lent  sermons  of  modern  times  ;  and  a 
translation  of  the  Lent  Homilies  of  the  ancient 
Greek  bishops  could  not  be  read  to  any  congrega- 
tion of  modern  christians,  without  great  absurdity, 
except  to  Baptist  assemblies,  and  there  they  would 
be  heard  in  raptures,  for  their  singular  propriety 
and  beauty. — Benedict's  Hist.  Bap.  vol.  1.  pp.  68, 
69,  70. 


28 

At  the  Baptistery  of  No  vara,  a  building  near  the 
church  which  yet  remains,  Bishop  Lorenzo  preach- 
ed a  baptismal  discourse,  about  the  sixth  century. 
His  Homily  on  repentance,  seems  to  have  been  a 
preparation  sermon  previous  to,  or  immediately  af- 
ter baptism. — Extracts  Rob.  hist.  Bap.  p.  100. 

Mr.  Robinson  has  given  similar  descriptions  of 
the  baptisteries  of  Revenna,  Venice,  Florrence, 
No  vara,  and  Milan  ;  but  those  which  have  been 
mentioned  will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  form 
and  design  of  these  baptismal  structures,  which 
were  erected  in  the  front  of  Christian  temples,  to 
show  that  baptism  is  the  entrance  into  the  church. 
— Bened.  v.  1,  p.  70. 

In  this  age  believers  were  baptized  upon  pro- 
fession of  their  faith,  is  evident.  Gregory  says, 
1  In  baptism,  the  elect  receive  the  gift  of  the  Spirit, 
whereby  also  their  understandings  are  enlightened 
in  the  Scriptures  ;  and  that  hy  faith  in  the  death 
of  Christ  by  baptism  their  sins  are  forgiven.'  In 
this  century  the  council  of  Agathan  decreed,  that 
the  Articles  of  Faith  be  first  preached  to  the  per- 
sons to  be  baptized,  before  they  are  baptized, — see 
Vicecome's  Hist,  of  Bap.  p.  482— Junius,  Jun.  p.  75. 

Austin  was  sent  to  England  A.  D.  596,  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  years  after  the  Waldenses  had 
visited  England,  he  was  the  Pope's  legate,  and  a 
cruel  enemy  to  the  ancient  Christian  Brittons.  He 
was  so  ignorant  of  the  rite  of  Baptism  to  Infants 
when  he  first  came  to  Britain  (and  because  he 
could  not  find  it  in  his  Bible)  that  he  wrote  to  Pope 
Gregory  to  be  resolved  in  it:  See  his  tenth  Inter- 
rogatory Ex.  Decreto.  Greg.  Lib.  I.  Council  Tom. 
II. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  41. 

JErius. — It  is  happy  for  simple  Christians  that 
their  rule  of  duty  is  plain,  though  unfortunately, 
not  sanctioned  by  either  the  Catholic  or  the  Re- 
formed church.  It  is  "  not  to  admit  into  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  any  thing  which  is  either  not  express- 


ly  commanded,  or  plainly  exemplified  in  the  New- 
Testament."  This  was  evidently  the  principle  up- 
on which  iErius  proceeded  in  opuosing  the  super- 
stition of  his  times,  and  for  which  he  deserves  to 
be  held  in  perpetual  remembrance  ; — he  had  socie- 
ties throughout  Armenia,  Pontus  and  Capadocia. — 
He  and  his  followers  flourished  in  the  fifth  and  sixth 
centuries. — Jones  pp.  194,   196. 

Donatists.—A  sect  of  the  Cathari,  whose  name  was 
derived  from  their  firrt  Bishop  Donatus  ;  like  the 
Novations,  they  re-baptized,  denying  the  validity 
of  baptism  by  the  Catholics.  From  the  purity  of 
their  communion  they  were  called  puritans.  They 
flourished  from  the  fourth  to  the  sixth  century,  and 
were  very  numerous,  having  churches  in  Spain, 
Italy  and  Africa  :  and  at  one  time  279  Bisnops. 

Jones  p.  222. 
The   Waldenses. — "  We  live  (says  Monsieur 
de  Vignaux,  who  was  forty  years  pastor  of  one  of 
the  churches  in  the  vallies  of  Piedmont,)  in  peace 
and  harmony  one  with  another,   have   intercourse 
and  dealings  chiefly  among  ourselves,  having  never 
mingled  ourselves  with  the  members  of  the  church 
of  Rome  by  marrying  our  sons  to  their  daughters, 
nor  our  daughters  to  their  sons,"    &c.     He  then 
gives  a  summary  of  their  doctrinal  principles,  for 
the  sake  of  which  they  have  been  persecuted,  such 
as  "  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  contain  all  things  ne- 
cessary to  our  salvation,  and  that  we  are  called  to 
believe  only  what  they  teach,  without  any  regard 
to  the  authority  of  man — that  nothing  else  ought  to 
be  received  by  us  except  what  God  hath  command- 
ed— that  there  is  only  one  mediator  between  God 
and  man,  and   consequently  that  it  is  wrong  to  in- 
voke the  saints.     That  baptism  and  the  Lord's  sup- 
per are  the  only  standing  ordinances  in  the  church 
of  Christ — that  we  admit  of  no  other  degrees  than 
bishops  and  deacons. — that  all  human  tradition 
are  to  be  rejected,"  &c. — Jones  p.  344. 
3* 


30 


SEVENTH  CENTURY, 

Having  the  understanding  darkened,  being  alienated  from  the 
life  of  God,  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  them,  because  of  the 
blindness  of  their  heart. — Eph.  iv.  18. 

And  he  said  unto  them  take  heed,  and  beware  of  covetousuess, 
for  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which 
he  possesseth. — Luke  xii.  15. 


The  Emperors  of  Rome  and  Constantinople,  who 
professed  Christianity,  had  now  been  lavishing  on 
the  clergy,  riches,  immunities,  and  privileges,  du- 
ring three  succeeding  centuries  ;  and  these  sedu- 
cing advantages  had  contributed  to  a  relaxation  of 
discipline,  and  the  introduction  of  such  a  mass  of 
disorders  as  wholly  destroyed  the  spirit  of  the 
Christian  profession.  They  seemed  to  have  be- 
lieved, says  the  Abbe  de  Mably,  that  avarice  was 
the  first  attribute  of  the  Deity,  and  that  the  saints 
made  a  traffic  of  their  influence  and  protection. 
"  Our  treasury  is  poor,"  said  Chilperic,  king  of  the 
Franks,  u  Our  riches  are  gone  to  the  church  ;  the 
bishops  are  the  kings."  And  true  it  is,  that  the 
superior  clergy,  by  the  influx  of  wealth  and  the 
acquisition  of  lands,  combined  the  influence  of 
worldly  grandeur  with  that  of  religion,  insomuch 
that  they  were  often  the  arbiters  of  kingdoms,  and 
disposed  of  the  crown,  while  they  regulated  the 
affairs  of  the  state. 

Historians  have  exhibited  to  us  the  melancholy 
picture  of  the  universal  darkness  and  ignorance, 
which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  had 
overspread  all  ranks  of  men.  Even  the  ecclesias- 
tical orders  scarcely  afforded  an  exception  to  this 
general  description. — Jones  pp.  236,  237. 

In  this  age  we  find  that  the  Bracarens  Council* 
in  Spain,  decreed,  that  no  adult  person  but  such 
who  h'xdbeen  well  instructed  and  examined  should 
be  baptized. 


31 


The  council  of  Toletanus  express  the  same  im- 
port ;  and  we  find  that  Paulinus  baptized  in  the 
river  Trent,  in  England,  a  great  number  both  of 
men  and  women, — see  Bead,  L.  2,  Chap.  16.  Cent. 
7,  p.  145  ;  and  in  Egypt,  it  is  said,  that  the  Chris- 
tians departed  from  the  faith  and  practice  of  the 
church  of  Rome,  placing  it  upon  the  apostolic  foun- 
dation, that  the  person  should  first  believe  before 
he  is  baptized. — Vicecomes,  L.  9,  c.  3 — Junius, 
Jun.  p.  75. 

The  Paulicians — At  a  moment  when  darkness 
seemed  to  cover  the  earth,  and  thick  darkness  the 
people,  it  is  pleasing  to  contemplate  a  ray  of  ce- 
lestial light  darting  across  the  gloom-;  about  the 
middle  of  this  century,  a  new  sect  arose  in  the 
East,  under  the  name  of  Paulicians. 

Near  Somosater,  a  person  named  Constantine, 
entertained  a  deacen  from  Syria,  from  whom  he 
received  the  precious  gift  of  the  New-Testament  ; 
he  studied  it  with  unwearied  assiduity  ;  he  investi- 
gated the  creed  of  primitive  Christianity,  and  the 
knowledge,  under  divine  blessing,  that  he  was  en- 
abled to  attain,  he  gladly  communicated  to  others 
around  him,  and  what  we  would  call  a  revival,  soon 
commenced,  a  Christian  church  was  collected,  in 
a  little  time  several  individuals  arose  among  them, 
qualified  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  several 
other  churches  were  collected  throughout  Arme- 
nia and  Capadocia.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  lead- 
ing object  with  them  to  restore  the  profession  of 
Christianity  to  all  its  primitive  simplicity. — Jones 
p.  239. 

The  Waldenses,  says  Reinerius  Saccho,  an  in- 
quisitor, and  one  of  their  most  implacable  enemies, 
who  lived  only  eighty  years  after  Waldo,  admits 
that  the  Waldenses  flourished  five  hundred  years 
before  that  preacher,  (of  course  they  flourished  in 
this  century,  their  enemies  giving  the  evidence.) 
— Jones  p.  SOI. 


32 

EIGHTH  CENTURY, 

It  is  written  thou  shg.lt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shait 
thou  serve. — Matt.  vi.  10. 

Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness 
of  any  thing  that  is  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  in  the  earth  beneath, 
or  that  is  in  the  water  under  the  earth. — Ex.  xx.  5. 

I  marvel  that  ye  are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called  you 
into  the  grace  of  Christ. — Gal.  i.  6. 

One  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism. — Eph.  iv.  6. 


The  mystery  of  iniquity  continued  to  work,  until 
at  length,  under  the  reign  of  Irene,  was  convened 
what  was  termed  the  seventh  general  council.  It 
was  held  at  Nice.  In  this  assembly  it  was  decreed, 
that  holy  images  of  the  cross  should  be  consecrated 
and  put  on  the  sacred  vessels  and  vestments,  and 
upon  walls  and  boards  in  private  houses  and  in  pub- 
lic highways.  And  especially  that  there  should  be 
erected  images  of  the  Lord  God  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  of  our  blessed  Lady,  the  mother  of  God,  of 
the  venerable  angels  and  of  all  the  saints.  And 
that  whoever  should  presume  to  think  or  teach  oth- 
erwise, or  to  throw  away  any  painted  books,  or  the 
figure  of  the  cross,  or  any  image  or  picture,  or  any 
genuine  relics  of  the  martyrs,  they  should,  if  bish- 
ops or  clergymen  be  disposed,  or  if  monks  or  lay- 
men be  excommunicated. 

The  Waldenses  bore  a  noble  testimony  against 
all  this  idolatry,  superstition  and  false  worship, 
calling  it  antichrist.  Their  language  is,  "  Christ 
never  had  an  enemy  like  this  ;  so  able  to  pervert 
the  way  of  truth  into  falsehood,  insomuch  that  the 
true  church,  with  her  children,  is  trodden  under 
foot.  The  worship  that  belongs  alone  to  God  he 
transfered  to  antichrist  himself — to  the  creature, 
male  and  female,  deceased — to  images,  carcases, 
and  relics.  The  sacrament  of  the  eucharist  is  con- 
verted into  an  object  of  adoration,  and  the  worship- 
ing of  God  alone  is  prohibited. — Jones  p.  229,  328. 

The  first  appearance  of  baptizing  by  pouring. 


33 

was  in  the  eighth  century,  when  Pope  Stephen  III. 
allowed  the  validity  of  such  a  baptism  of  infants  in 
danger  of  death,  and  in  cases  of  necessity.  The 
learned  James  Bassanage  makes  several  very  pro- 
per remarks  on  this  canon  :  as  that  "  although  it 
is  accounted  the  first  law  for  sprinkling,  yet  it  doth 
not  forbid  dipping  ;  that  it  allows  sprinkling  only 
in  cases  of  imminent  danger  :  that  the  authenticity 
of  it  is  denied  by  some  Catholicks  :  that  many  laws 
were  made  after  this  time  in  Germany,  France,  and 
England,  to  compel  dipping,  and  without  any  pro- 
vision for  cases  of  necessity  :  therefore  this  law  did 
not  alter  the  mode  of  dipping  in  public  baptisms  : 
and  that  it  was  not  till  five  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after,  that  the  council  at  Ravenna,  in  the  year  thir- 
teen hundred  and  eleven,  declared  dipping  or 
sprinkling  indifferent. "-Bened.  v.  1,  p.  65. 

In  this  age  we  find  the  learned  Bede  says,  (page 
220.)  that  men  were  first  to  be  instructed  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  then  to  be  baptized  as 
Christ  has  taught,  because  that  without  faith  it  is 
impossible  to  please  God.  The  learned  Haime, 
upon  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  says,  in  these  words  is  set 
down  the  rule  how  to  baptize  ;  that  is,  that  teach- 
ing should  go  before  baptism.  For  he  saith  that 
Christ  says  teach  all  nations,  then  Baptize  ;  for  he 
that  is  to  be  baptized  must  first  be  instructed  to  be- 
lieve what  he  in  baptism  is  to  receive. 

Likewise  the  council  of  Paris,  and  that  of  Lao- 
dica,  that  those  who  are  baptized  ought  first  to  be 
instructed  in  the  faith,  and  to  make  a  confession 
thereof. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  76. 

The  following  illustrations  of  the  word  baptize, 
are  from  eminent  men  of  later  date.  Dr.  Campbell, 
principal  of  the  College,  (Abberdeen)  says,  the 
word  baptize,  both  in  sacred  authors,  and  classical, 
signifies  to  dip,  to  plunge,  to  immerse, — see  his 
four  Gospels  p.  259.  note  on  Matt.  3d. 

Zanchus,  professor  of  Divinity  at  Heidleburg, 


34 

says,  the  proper  signification  of  the  word  baptize, 
is  to  immerse,  plunge  under,  to  overwhelm  in  wa- 
ter. Witsius,  professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Univer- 
sities of  Franker,  Utretcht  and  Leyden,  says,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  the  native  signification  of  the 
word  baptize  is  to  plunge  or  dip.  Calvin  says,  the 
word  baptize  signifies  to  immerse,  and  the  rite  of 
immersion  was  observed  by  the  ancient  church. — 
Review  of  Bakers  view  of  Bap.  p.  4. 

The  Paulicians, — Their  public  appearance  soon 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  Catholic  party,  who  im- 
mediately branded  them  with  many  opprobrious 
epithets.  The  labors  of  Constantine  appears  to 
have  been  crowned  with  much  success.  Pontus 
and  Capadocia,  regions  once  renowned  for  Chris- 
tian piety,  were  again  blessed  with  a  diffusion  of 
the  light  of  divine  truth,  and  their  congregations, 
in  process  of  time,  were  diffused  over  the  provin- 
ces of  Asia  Minor.  Simeon,  a  Greek  officer,  was 
sent  to  destroy  them,  and  the  venerable  Constan- 
tine with  others  were  stoned  to  death  ;  but  Simeon 
himself,  struck  with  the  evidence  of  divine  grace 
in  the  sufferers,  embraced  at  length  the  faith  which 
he  came  to  destroy — renounced  his  station,  resign- 
ed his  honors  and  fortunes,  became  a  zealous 
preacher  among  the  Paulicians  and  at  last  sealed 
his  testimony  with  his  blood. — Jones  p.  240. 

The  Waldenses  of  Italy,  called  Paterines,  who 
were  discovered  by  their  enemies  in  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, made  no  objections  to  the  Catholicks  bapti- 
zing by  immersion  as  the  mode  ;  but  when  they 
were  examined,  they  objected  vehemently  against 
the  baptism  of  infants,  and  condemned  it  as  an 
error.  Among  other  things,  they  said,  that  a  child 
knew  nothing  of  the  matter  ;  that  he  had  no  de- 
sire to  be  baptized,  and  was  incapable  of  making 
any  confession  of  faith,  and  that  the  willing  and 
professing  of  another  could  be  of  no  service  to  him. 
—Jones,   p.  282,  see  10  Cent,  of  these  Sketches.  * 


35 

NINTH  CENTURY. 

And  if  it  seem  evil  to  you  to  serve  the  Lord,  choose  ye  this  day 
whom  you  will  serve.  But  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the 
Lord. — Joshnaxxiv.  15. 


The  principal  vallies  of  Piedmont,  are  Aosta  and 
Susa  on  the  north — Stura  on  the  south — and  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  Lucerna,  Angrogna,  Rac- 
capiatta,  Pramol,  Perosa,  and  S.  Martino.  The 
valley  of  Clusone,  or  Pragela,  as  it  is  often  called, 
was  in  ancient  times  apart  of  the  province  of  Dau- 
phiny,  in  France,  and  has  been  from  the  days  of 
Hannibal,  the  ordinary  route  of  the  French  and 
other  armies,  when  marching  into  Italy.  Angrogna, 
Pramol,  and  S.  Martino  are  strongly  fortified  De- 
nature on  account  of  their  many  difficult  passes  and 
bulwarks  of  rocks  and  mountains  ;  as  if  the  allwise 
Creator,  says  Sir  Samuel  Moriand,  had  from  the 
beginning,  designed  that  place  as  a  cabinet,  where- 
in to  put  some  inestimable  jewel,  or  in  which  to 
reserve  many  thousand  souls,  which  should  not 
bow  the  knee  before  Baal. 

Indeed,  from  the  borders  of  Spain,  throughout 
the  greatest  part  of  the  south  of  France,  among  and 
below  the  Alps,  along  the  Rhine  and  even  to  Bo- 
hemia, thousands  of  the  disciples  of  Christ,  as  will 
hereafter  be  shewn,  were  found,  even  in  the  very 
worst  of  times,  preserving  the  faith  in  its  purity, 
adhering  to  the  simplicity  of  Christian  worship, 
patiently  bearing  the  cross  after  Christ ;  men  dis- 
tinguished by  their  fear  of  God  and  obedience  to 
his  will,  and  persecuted  only  for  righteousness  sake. 
— Jones  pp.  242,  244. 

In  this  age  we  find  that  Rabanus,  in  chap.  4, 
says,  that  the  Catechism,  which  is  the  doctrine 
of  faith,  must  go  before  baptism,  to  the  intent  that 
he  that  is  to  be  baptized,  may  first  learn  the  mys- 
teries of  faith,  and  likewise  observes,  the  Lord 
Christ  anointed  the  eyes  of  him   that  was  born 


36 

blind,  with  clay  made  of  spittle,  before  he  sent 
him  to  the  water  of  Shiloah,  to  signify  that  he  that 
is  to  be  baptized,  must  first  see  or  be  instructed  in 
the  faith  concerning  the  incarnation  of  Christ, — 
when  he  that  is  instructed  doth  believe,  then  he  is 
to  be  admitted  to  baptism,  that  he  might  know 
whom  he  afterwards  ought,  and  in  duty  is  bound  to 
serve. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  76. 

The  Paulicians. — 1These  Christian  churches 
seem  to  have  been  almost  incessantly  subjected  to 
persecution,  which  they  supported  with  Christian 
meekness  and  patience,  until  the  ninth  century, 
when  Theodora  the  Greek  empress  is  computed  to 
have  killed  by  gibbet,  fire  and  sword,  a  hundred 
thousand  persons.  The  Catholic  writers  frequently 
mention  the  Paulicians,  as  being  of  the  same  sect  as 
the  Waldenses,  among  others,  the  Catholic  histo- 
rian, William  of  Neuburg,  called  the  Waldenses 
who  were  appreheuded  in  England,  and  who  deni- 
ed infant  baptism,  Paulicians. — Jones,  pp.  241,275. 

The  Waldenses,  says  President  Edwards,  lived 
separate  from  all  the  rest  of  the  world ;  who  kept 
themselves  pure,  and  constantly  bore  a  testimony 
against  the  church  of  Rome,  through  all  this  dark 
time.  The  place  where  they  dwelt  was  the  Vau- 
dois,  or  the  five  vallies  of  Piedmont,  (that  is,  foot 
of  the  mount).  It  is  a  very  mountainous  country 
between  Italy  and  France,  and  the  place  where 
they  lived  was  compassed  with  those  exceeding 
high  mountains,  called  the  Alps,  which  was  almost 
impassable.  The  passage  over  the  mountains  and 
desert  countries,  was  so  difficult,  that  the  vallies 
where  this  people  dwelt  were  almost  inaccessible. 
There  this  people  lived  for  many  ages  as  it  were 
alone  ;  where,  in  a  state  of  separation  from  all  the 
world,  having  very  little  to  do  with  any  other  peo- 
ple, they  served  God  in  the  ancient  purity  of  his 
worship,  and  never  submitted  to  the  church  of 
Rome.— Merrill's  Min.  Hist.  Bap.  p.  101. 


37 

TENTH  CENTURY. 

And  he  said  unto  me,  my  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  for  my 
stiength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly  therefore,  will  I 
rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon 
me.  Therefore  I  take  pleasure  in  infirmities,  in  reproaches,  in  ne- 
cessities, in  persecutions,  in  distresses  for  Christ's  sake,  for  when  1 
am  weak  then  am  I  strong. — 2  Cor.  xii.  9,  10. 


During  the  dark  ages  which  succeeded  the  inva- 
sion of  Europe  by  the  barbarous  nations,  when  feu- 
dal anarchy  distracted  the  civil  governments,  and 
a  flood  of  superstition  had  deluged  the  church ,  Chris- 
tianity, banished  from  the  seats  of  empire,  and  loath- 
ing the  monkish  abodes  of  indolence  and  vice, 
meekly  retired  into  the  sequestered  vallies  of  Pied- 
mont. Finding  there  a  race  of  men  unarrayed  in 
hostile  armour,  uncontaminated  by  the  doctrines 
and  commandments  of  an  apostate  church,  unambi- 
tious in  their  temper,  and  simple  in  their  manners, 
she  preferred  their  society,  and  among  them  took 
up  her  abode.  The  turbulence  of  the  times,  which 
drave  many  from  the  more  fertile  plains  of  France 
and  Italy,  in  search  of  freedom  and  tranquility, 
greatly  augmented  the  population  of  this  remote 
district  ;  and,  in  the  ninth  century,  the  doctrine 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  had  been  held  forth  among 
them  with  considerable  clearness  and  ability  by 
Claude,  bishop  of  Turin. 

Remote  from  the  influence  of  noisy  parties,  and 
little  conversant  with  literature,  we  can  scarcely 
expect  any  notice  of  them,  until  their  increase  and 
prosperity  excited  the  attention  of  ambition  and 
avarice,  and  occasioned  it  to  be  rumoured  in  the 
neighboring  ecclesiastical  states  that  a  numerous 
people  occupied  the  southern  vallies  of  the  Alps, 
whose  faith  and  practice  differed  from  those  of  the 
Romish  church  ;  who  paid  no  tithes,  offered  no 
mass,  worshipped  no  saints,  had  no  recourse  to  any 
of  the  prescribed  means  for  redeeming  their  souls 
from  purgatory. 


38 

The  archbishops  of  Turin,  Milan,  and  other  cities, 
heard  this  report  with  anxiety,  and  the  necessary 
measures  were  accordingly  adopted  for  ascertain- 
ing its  truth  or  falsehood  ;  the   former  turning  out 
to  be  the  result,  and  finding  that  these  people  were 
not  to  be  controlled  by  the  authority  and  denuncia- 
tions of  the  church  of  Rome,  the  aid  of  the  civil 
power  was  demanded.     The  princes  and  nobles  of 
the  adjacent   countries  at   first  refused  to  disturb 
them  ;  they  had  beheld  with  pleasure  their  simple 
manners,   their   uprightness  and   integrity,    their 
readiness  to  oblige,   and  their  fidelity  in  the   dis- 
charge of  all  the  duties  of  civil  and  social  life.    The 
clamour  of  the  Romish  clergy,  however,  ultimately 
prevailed,  and  the   civil  power  was  armed  against 
the  peaceable  inhabitants  of  the  vallies.     Scaffolds 
were  erected  and  fires  kindled  at  Turin  and  other 
cities  around  them.     The  fortitude  and  Confidence 
of  the  martyrs,  however,  increased  as  their  faith 
and  constancy  were  tried.     "  Favor  me,"  said  Ca- 
talan Girard,  who  was  one  of  their  number,  as  he 
sat  upon  the  funeral  pile  at  Reuel — u  favor  me  with 
those   two  flint   stones,"  which  he  saw  near  him. 
Being  handed  to  him,  he  added,  as  he  threw  them 
to  the  ground,  "  Sooner  shall  I  eat  these   stones, 
than  you   shall  be  able   by  persecution  to  destroy 
the  religion  for  which  I  die." 

Multitudes,  however,  fled  like  innocent  and  de- 
fenceless sheep  from  these  devouring  wolves. 
They  crossed  the  Alps  ;  and  travelled  in  every 
direction  as  Providence  and  the  prospect  of  safety 
conducted  them,  into  Germany,  England,  France, 
Italy,  and  other  countries.  There  they  trimmed 
their  lamps  and  shone  with  new  lusture.  Their 
worth  every  where  drew  attention,  and  their  doc- 
trine formed  increasing  circles  around  them.  The 
storm  which  threatened  their  destruction,  only 
scattered  them  as  the  precious  seeds  of  the  future 


/ 


39 

glorious  reformation  of  the  Christian  church.— Jones 
pp.  267,  268. 

The  most  satisfactory  definition  that  I  have  met 
with  of  the  term  Waldenses,  is  that  given  by  Mr. 
Robinson,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  Researches  ;  and, 
in  the  confidence  that  it  is  the  true  one,  and  that  I 
may  not  unnecessarily  trespass  on  the  reader's 
time  and  patience,  I  submit  it  to  his  consideration. 

From  the  Latin  word  vallis,  came  the  English 
word  valley,  the  French  and  Spanish  voile,  the 
Italian  valdesi,  the  Low  Dutch  valley  e,  the  Proven- 
cal vaux  vaudois,  the  Ecclesiastical  Valdei&es, 
Ualdenses,  and  Waldenses.  The  words  simply 
signify  rallies,  inhabitants  of  vallies,  and  no  more. 
It  happened  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  vallies  of 
the  Pyrenees  did  not  profess  the  Catholic  faith  ; 
it  fell  out  also  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  vallies 
about  the  Alps  did  not  embrace  it ;  it  happened, 
moreover,  in  the  ninth  century,  that  one  Valdo,  a 
friend  and  counsellor  of  Berengarius,  and  a  man 
of  eminence  who  had  many  followers,  did  not  ap- 
prove of  the  papal  discipline  and  doctrine  ;  and  it 
came  to  pass  about  an  hundred  and  thirty  years 
after,  that  a  rich  merchant  of  Lyons,  who  was  call- 
ed Valdus,  or  Waldo,  openly  disavowed  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  religion,  supported  many  to  teach  the 
doctrines  believed  in  the  vallies,  and  became  the 
instrument   of  the   conversion   of  numbers  ;    all 

THESE  PEOPLE  WERE  CALLED  WaLDENSES.        This 

view  of  the  matter,  which  to  myself  is  indisputably 
the  true  one,  is  also  supported  by  the  authority  of 
their  own  historians,  Pierre  Gilles,  Perrin,  Leger, 
Sir  S.  Morland,  and  Dr.  Allix.— Rob.  Ec'l.  Re- 
searches, pp.  302,  303— Jones,  p.  299. 

But  after  multitudes  of  the  Waldenses  were  dis- 
persed indifferent  parts  of  Europe,  they  often  bore 
the  name  of  the  country  where  they  then,  or  re- 
cently had  inhabited  ,  such  for  instance,  as  were 
from  Alby,  or  the  district  of  Albigeois,  were  call- 


40 

ed  Albigenses  ;  from  Lombard,  Lombardists  ;  from 
Toulouse,  Toulousians;  from  Bohemia,  Bohemians, 
&c.  They  were  also  often  called  after  the  name 
of  eminent  preachers  of  their  faith  and  order  ; — 
from  Peter  Waldo,  of  Lyons,  Leonists  ;  from  Pe- 
ter De  Bruys,  Petrobrusians,  and  in  some  places,  Ca- 
tharists,  (puritans);  Paterines,  Paulicians,  &c;  "  all 
these  branches,  however,  sprang  from  one  common 
stock,  and  were  animated  by  the  same  religious  and 
moral  principles,  and  it  is  observed  that  whenever 
the  Pope  or  the  officers  of  the  inquisition  made  out 
their  process  of  indictment  against  any  of  those 
branches,  they  were  always  called  Waldenses,  for 
the  Catharists  in  Germany,  and  the  Paterines  in  the 
Duchy  of  Milan,  during  this  period  held  the  same 
principles  as  the  Waldenses." — Jones,  p.  301-2. 

The  Paterines,  of  Italy , were  known  by  the  name 
of  Cathari,  or  Gazari,  which  is  a  corruption  of 
Cathari,  puritans  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  in  the 
examinations  of  these  people,  they  are  not  taxed 
with  any  immoralities,  but  were  condemned  for 
speculations,  or  rather  for  virtuous  rules  of  action, 
which  all  in  power  accounted  heresies.  They  said 
a  Christian  church  ought  to  consist  of  only  good  peo- 
ple ;  a  church  had  no  power  to  frame  constitutions, 
(canons)  ;  it  was  not  right  to  take  oaths  ;  it  was 
not  lawful  to  kill  mankind  ;  a  man  ought  not  to  be 
delivered  up  to  officers  of  justice  to  be  converted  ; 
the  benefits  of  society  belonged  alike  to  all  the 
members  of  it  ;  faith  without  works  could  not  save 
a  man  ;  the  church  ought  not  to  persecute  any, 
even  the  wicked. 

As  the  Catholics  of  those  times  baptized  by  immer- 
sion, the  Paterines,  made  no  complaint  of  the  mode 
of  baptizing,  but  when  they  were  examined,  they 
objected  vehemently  against  the  baptism  of  infants, 
and  condemned  it  as  an  error.  Among  other  things, 
they  said,  that  a  child  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 
that  he  had  no  desire  to  be  baptized,  and  was  in* 


41 

capable  of  making  any  confession  of  faith,  and  that 
the  willing  and  professing  of  another  could  be  of 
no  service  to  him.  "  Here  then,"  says  Dr.  Allix, 
very  truly,  u  we  have  found  a  body  of  men  in  Italy, 
before  the  year  one  thousand  and  twenty-six,  five 
hundred  years  before  the  reformation,  who  believ- 
ed contrary  to  the  opinions  of  the  church  of  Rome, 
and  who  highly  condemned  their  errors."  Atto, 
bishop  of  Verceulli,  had  complained  of  such  peo- 
ple eighty  years  before,  and  so  had  others  before 
him,  and  there  is  the  highest  reason  to  believe  that 
they  had  always  existed  in  Italy.  It  is  observable 
that  those  who  are  alluded  to  by  Dr.  Allix,  were 
brought  to  light  by  mere  accident.  No  notice  were 
taken  of  them  in  Italy,  but  some  disciples  of  Gun- 
dulf,  one  of  their  teachers,  went  to  settle  in  the 
low  countries  (Netherlands,)  and  Gerard,  bishop  of 
Cambray,  imprisoned  them,  under  pretence  of  con- 
verting them. — Jones,  pp.  281,  282. 

The  Waldenses,  or  Cathari,  who  in  Italy 
were  called  Paterines,  were  decent  in  their  de- 
portment, modest  in  their  address  and  discourse, 
and  their  morals  irreproachable.  In  their  conver- 
sation there  was  no  levity,  no  scurrility,  no  de- 
traction, no  falsehood,  no  swearing.  Their  dress 
was  neither  fine  nor  mean ;  they  were  chaste  and 
temperate,  never  frequenting  taverns,  or  places  of 
public  amusement.  They  were  not  given  to  anger 
and  other  violent  passions.  They  were  not  eager 
to  accumulate  wealth,  but  content  with  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  They  avoided  commerce,  because 
they  thought  it  would  expose  them  to  the  tempta- 
tion of  collusion,  falsehood  and  oaths,  choosing  ra- 
ther to  live  by  labor  or  useful  trades.  They  were 
always  employed  in  spare  hours,  either  in  giving 
or  receiving  instruction.  Their  bishops  and  offi- 
cers were  generally  mechanics,  who  maintained 
themselves  by  their  own  industry. — Jones,  p.  283. 
4* 


42 


ELEVENTH  CENTURY. 


Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that  they    may  see  your  good 
works,  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. — Matt.  v.  16. 


The  Paterines, — Their  churches  were  divided 
into  sixteen  compartments  ;  such  as  the  English 
Baptists  would  call  associations.  Each  of  these 
were  subdivided  into  parts,  which  would  be  here 
termed  churches  or  congregations.  In  Milan  there 
was  a  street  called  Pataria,  where  it  is  supposed 
they  met  for  divine  worship. — Jones,  p.  282-3. 

The  Paterines,  about  the  year  1040,  had  become 
very  numerous  at  Milan,  which  was  their  principal 
residence,  and  here  they  flourished  at  least  two 
hundred  years.  They  had  no  connexion  with  the 
[Catholic]  church  ;  for  they  rejected  not  only  Je- 
rome of  Syria,  Augustine  of  Africa,  and  Gregory 
of  Rome,  but  Ambrose  of  Milan  ;  considering  them, 
and  all  other  pretended  fathers,  as  corrupters  of 
Christianity.  They  particularly  condemned  Pope 
Sylvester  as  Antichrist. — Jones,  p.  283. 

Anselem  says,  that  believers  are  baptized  into 
the  death  of  Christ  :  that  believing  his  death  and 
conforming  thereto,  may  as  dying  with  him,  live 
also  with  him. — Cent.  11,  p.  169.  And  again  he 
saith,  the  baptism  of  Christ  is  the  washing  of  water 
into  the  word  of  life — take  away  either  the  water 
or  the  word  and  baptism  ceaseth.-Junius,  Jr.  p.  76. 
The  Waldenses,  and  their  disciples  from  France, 
Germany  and  Holland,  began  to  emigrate  and  to 
abound  in  England,  about  the  year  1080,  they  are 
said  to  have  propagated  their  sentiments  through- 
out England,  so  that  not  only  the  meaner  sort  in 
country  villages,  but  the  nobility  and  gentry  in  the 
chief  towns  and  cities  embraced  their  doctrines, 
and  of  course  adopted  the  opinion  of  the  Baptists, 
for  we  have  no  information  that  any  of  the  Wal- 
denses at  this  period,  had  fallen  off  to  infant  bap- 
tism. For  more  than  a  hundred  years  the  Wal- 
denses increased  and  were  unmolested. — Benedict. 
v.  1,  p.  191. 


43 


TWELFTH  CENTURY. 


Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you.  The  servant  is  not 
greater  than  his  Lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  me  they  will  perse- 
cute you  ;   if  they  have  kept  my  sayings  they  will  keep  yours  also. 

John  xvi.  20. 


We  are  told  by  Le  Sieur  de  la  Popeliniere,  who 
wrote  a  History  of  France,  that  the  religion  of  the 
Waldenses  spread  itself  throughout  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  even  into  Poland  and  Lithuania  ; 
and  that  ever  since  the  year  1100,  they  had  been 
propagating  their  doctrine,  which  differed  but  lit- 
tle from  the  modern  Protestants.  He  adds  that, 
notwithstanding  the  vigorous  efforts  that  have  been 
resorted  to,  by  different  princes  and  powers,  to 
suppress  their  doctrine,  they  had,  even  to  his 
times,  boldly  and  courageously  maintained  it. 

A  little  before  the  year  1 140,  Evervinus,  a  Ger- 
man, addressed  a  letter  to  Bernard,  a  bishop  of  the 
Roman  church,  informing  him  that  they  had  lately 
discovered  some  heretics,  a  branch  of  the  Walden- 
ses, in  his  neighborhood,  (Stainfield,  Germany) 
and  that  they  had  got  the  bishop  and  his  compan- 
ions, whom  they  admonished  to  repent  for  three- 
days,  and  then  they  were  all  burnt  to  death,  and 
what  is  more  astonishing,  continues  Evervinus, 
they  came  to  the  stake,  and  endured  the  torments 
of  the  flames,  not  only  with  patience,  but  even  with 
joy.  He  also  gives  the  following,  as  a  part  of  their 
Confession  of  Faith.  "  Whereas  we  and  our  fa- 
thers having  been  born  and  brought  up  in  the  apos- 
tolic doctrine  have  continued  in  the  grace  of  Christ, 
and  shall  continue  so  to  the  end.  By  their  fruits 
ye  shall  know  them  saith  Christ;  and  our  fruits 
are  the  footsteps  of  Christ.  The  apostolic  dignity, 
say  they,  is  corrupted  by  engaging  itself  in  secular 
affairs,  while  it  sits  in  the  chair  of  Peter.  They 
do  not  hold  the  baptism  of  infants,  alleging  that  pas- 
sage of  the  gospel,  '  He  that  believeth  and  is  bap- 


44 

tized  shall  be  saved.'  They  place  no  confidence 
in  the  intercession  of  saints  ;  and  all  things  observ- 
ed in  the  church  which  have  not  been  established 
by  Christ  himself,  or  his  apostles,  they  call  super- 
stition." 

The  letter  of  Evervinus  had  all  the  effect  upon 
Bernard  that  he  could  desire.  He  is  extremely 
offended  with  them  for  deriding  the  Catholics  be- 
cause they  baptized  infants,  and  prayed  for  the 
dead,  and  asserted  purgatory — condemning  their 
scrupulous  refusal  to  swear  at  all,  which,  according 
to  him,  was  one  of  their  peculiarities. — Extracts 
from  Jones,  pp.  271-2-3. 

The  Cathari.—We  have  some  additional  informa- 
tion concerning  these  people,  given  us  by  Egbert  a 
monk,  and  afterwards  abbot  of  Schonage,  who  tells 
us  that  he  had  often  disputed  with  these  heretics,  and 
that  he  had  learned  still  more  of  their  opinions  from 
those  who  had,  through  the  force  of  torments  and  the 
threat  of  being  burned,  renounced  their  commun- 
ion. He  says,  "  they  are  commonly  called  Cathari, 
[Puritans]  a  sort  of  people  very  pernicious  to  the 
Catholic  faith,  which,  like  moths,  they  corrupt  and 
destroy."  He  adds,  that  they  were  divided  into 
several  sects,  and  maintained  their  opinions  by  the 
authority  of  Scripture.  He  takes  particular  notice 
of  their  denying  the  utility  of  baptism  to  infants, 
which,  say  they,  through  their  incapacity,  avails 
nothing  to  their  salvation  ;  insisting  that  baptism 
ought  to  be  deferred  till  they  come  to  years  of  dis- 
cretion, and  that  even  then,  those  only  should  be 
baptized  who  make  a  personal  profession  of  faith, 
and  desire  it. — Jones,  p.  274. 

About  the  year  1110,  In  the  South  of  France, 
in  the  provinces  of  Languedoc  and  Provence,  ap- 
peared Peter  de  Bruys,  preaching  the  gospel  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  exerting  the  most  lau- 
dable efforts  to  reform  the  abuses  and  remove  the 
superstitions  which  disfigured  the  beautiful  simpli- 


45 

city  of  the  gospel  worship,  and  saying  that  baptism 
was  only  to  be  administered  to  adults.  About  the 
year  1160,  Peter  Waldo,  a  merchant  of  Lyons,  be- 
gan his  ministry.  An  extraordinary  occurrence  in 
providence  was  the  means  of  awaking  his  mind  to 
the  one  thing  needful.  One  evening  after  supper, 
as  he  sat  conversing  with  a  party  of  friends,  and 
refreshing  himself  among  them,  one  of  them  fell 
down  dead  upon  the  floor,  to  the  consternation  of 
all  that  were  present.  Such  a  lesson  on  the  uncer- 
tainty of  human  life,  and  the  very  precarious  ten- 
ure in  which  mortals  hold  it,  most  forcibly  arrest- 
ed his  attention — under  the  terror  of  an  awakened 
conscience,  he  had  recourse  to  the  Holy  Scriptures 
for  instruction  and  comfort.  The  belief  of  the  tes- 
timony which  God  had  given  of  his  Son,  diffused 
peace  and  joy  into  his  own  mind,  raised  his  views 
and  conceptions  above  '  the  smoke  and  dross  of  this 
dim  spot  which  men  call  earth,'  and  led  him,  through 
a  precious  Saviour,  to  look  for  glory,  honour  and  im- 
mortality ;  even  eternal  life  in  the  world  to  come. 
He  preached  about  20  years,  and  it  was  blessed  to 
the  souls  of  thousands.  The  inhabitants  of  Europe 
were  indebted  to  him  for  the  first  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  a  modern  tongue,  since  the  time  that  the 
Latin  had  ceased  to  be  a  living  language, — a  gift  of 
inestimable  value. — Jones,  p.  303-4. 

The  Waldenses.-  -The  true  witnesses,  and  as  I 
may  say,  the  Protestants  of  this  age,  were  the  Wal- 
denses and  the  Albigenses,  who  oegan  to  be  famous 
at  this  time,  and  being  dispersed  into  various  places, 
were  distinguished  by  various  appellations.  Their 
first  and  proper  name  seemeth  to  have  been  Vallen- 
ses,  or  inhabitants  of  the  valleys,  and  so  saith  one  of 
the  oldest  writers,  Ebrad  of  Bethunc,  who  wrote 
in  the  year  1212,  (about  50  years  before  Peter  Wal- 
do.) They  call  themselves  Vallenses,  because 
they  abide  in  the  valley  of  tears,  alluding  to  their 
situation  in  the  valleys  of  Piedmont. — Bishop  New- 
ton on  the  prophesies,  v.  2,  p.  256, 


46 

THIRTEENTH  CENTURY. 

But  when  they  believed  Phillip,  preaching  the  things  concerning 
the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  bap- 
tized both  men  and  women. — Acts  viii.  12. 


But  of  all  the  Catholic  writers,  who  have  treat- 
ed of  the  Waldenses,  there  is  none  whose  testi- 
mony is  more  important  than  that  of  Reinerius  Sac- 
cho.  He  had  himself  been  one  of  their  number, 
and  wrote  a  book  against  them,  (A.  D.  1258.)  "  Of 
all  the  sects  that  have  risen  up  against  the  church 
of  Rome,"  says  he,  "  the  Waldenses  have  been 
the  most  prejudicial  and  pernicious,  for  three  rea- 
sons ;  1st.,  because  it  is  the  most  ancient — some 
aver  their  existence  from  the  days  of  Sylvester,  oth- 
ers from  the  very  time  of  the  apostles  ;  2d.,  because 
it  is  so  universal,  for  there  is  scarcely  a  country  in- 
to which  this  sect  has  not  crept ;  3d.,  because  all 
others  render  themselves  detestable  by  their  blas- 
phemies against  God,  this,  on  the  contrary,  hath  a 
great  appearance  of  Godliness  ;  for,  they  live  right- 
eously before  men,  believing  right  concerning  God 
in  every  particular,  holding  all  the  articles  contained 
in  the  [apostle's]  creed. 

"  The  first  lesson,"  says  he,  in  another  place, 
"  that  the  Waldenses  teach  those  whom  they  bring 
over  to  their  party,  is  to  instruct  them  what  kind 
of  persons  the  disciples  of  Christ  ought  to  be,  and 
this  they  do  by  the  doctrine  of  the  evangelists  and 
apostles,  saying  that  those  only  are  the  followers 
of  the  apostles  who  imitate  their  manner  of  life." 

The  Cathari,  says  Egbert,  were  increased  to 
great  multitudes,  throughout  all  countries,  and  al- 
though they  seem  not  to  have  attracted  attention  in 
any  remarkable  degree,  to  this  period  :  yet  as  it  is 
obvious  they  could  not  have  sprung  up  in  a  day,  it 
is  not  an  unfair  inference  that  they  must  have  long 
existed  as  a  people,  wholly  distinct  from  the  Catho- 
lic church,  though  amidst  the  political  squabbles 
of  the  clergy,  it  was  their  good  fortune  to  be  almost 
entirely  overlooked. — Jones,  p  275. 


47 

In  this  century  we  find  that  Jacob  Merningus 
says,  "  That  he  had  in  his  hand  in  the  German 
tongue  a  Confession  of  the  faith  of  the  Baptists, 
called  Waldenses,  which  asserts  that  in  the  begin- 
ning of  Christianity,  there  was  no  such  thing  as 
baptising  of  infants,  and  that  their  forefathers  prac- 
tised no  such  thing,  as  Johannes  Bohemius  writes 
in  his  second  book,  and  Merningus'  History  of  Bap- 
tism, Part  ii.  page  733.  And  it  is  likewise  observ- 
ed that  this  faith  and  practice  made  a  prodigious 
spread  through  Poland,  Lombardy,  Germany  and 
Holland, — see  Merning.  upon  Cent.  13,  page  737, 
and  Montantus,  page  86 — Junius,  Jun.  p.  77. 

The  Paterines. — Reinerius  says,  in  1259,  the 
Paterine  church  of  Alba  conssisted  of  above  500 
members;  that  at  Concorezzo  of  more  than  1500;  and 
that  of  Bagnolo  of  about  200.  The  houses  where 
they  met  seem  to  have  been. hired  by  the  people,  and 
tenanted  by  one  of  the  brethren.  There  were  several 
in  each  city,  and  each  was  distinguished  by  a  mark 
known  by  themselves.  They  had  bishops  or  elders, 
pastors  and  teachers,  deacons  and  messengers  ;  that 
is,  men  employed  in  travelling  to  administer  to  the 
relief  and  comfort  of  the  poor,  and  the  persecuted. 

The  Waldenses,— Among  those  chosen  and  faith- 
full  witnesses,  the  Lord  seemeth  very  signally  to 
have  raised  up  those  Christians,  who,  though  dis- 
persed in  divers  countries,  have  been  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  Waldenses,  who  for  some 
centuries  of  years,  have  lived  aitoag  their  enemies 
as  lambs  among  wolves,  to  bear  their  testimony  for 
the  truth  of  Christ  against  the  apostacies  of  the 
[Church]  of  Rome,  for  which  they  have  been  kil- 
led all  the  day  long,  and  appointed  as  sheep  for  the 
slaughter.  Nevertheless,  the  Lord,  the  great  shep- 
herd of  the  sheep,  hath  made  their  blood  thus  shed, 
to  become  a  constant  seed  of  faithful  and  valiant 
witnesses  for  him,  which  is  indeed  the  more  mar- 
vellous in  our  eyes,  that  this  bush  hath  so  long 
burned,  and  is  not  yet  consumed. — Jones,  p.  515. 


48 

FOURTEENTH  CENTURY. 

But  God  forbid  that  I  should  glory,  save  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  the  world  is  crucified  unto  me,  and  I  unto 
the  world. —  Gal.  vi.  14. 

But  they  had  heard  only,  that  he  which  persecuted  us  in  limes 
past,  now  preacheth  the  faith  which  he  once  destroyed.  And  they 
glorified  God  in  me. — Gal.  i.  23,  24. 


About  the  year  1330,  the  Waldenses  were  griev- 
ously harrassed  and  oppressed,  in  several  parts  of 
Germany,  by  an  inquisitor  of  the  name  of  Echard, 
a  Jacobin  monk.  The  circumstances  are  related  by 
Vignier,  in  his  Historical  Library,  part  the  third, 
where  he  also  records  an  anecdote  of  this  Echard, 
worth  mentioning.  After  inflicting  cruelties  with 
great  severity,  and  for  a  length  of  time,  upon  the 
Waldenses,  he  was  at  length  induced  to  investigate 
the  causes  and  reasons  of  their  separation  from  the 
church  of  Rome,  The  force  of  truth  ultimately 
prevailed  over  all  his  prejudices — his  own  con- 
science attested  that  many  of  the  errors  and  corrup- 
tions, which  they  charged  on  that  apostate  church, 
really  existed  ;  and,  finding  himself  unable  to  dis- 
prove the  articles  of  their  faith  by  the  word  of  God, 
he  confessed  that  truth  had  overcome  him,  gave 
glory  to  God,  and  entered  into  the  communion  of 
the  Waldensian  churches,  which  he  had  long  been 
engaged  in  punishing  and  persecuting  even  to  death. 
The  news  of  his  conversion  was  soon  spread  abroad, 
and  reached  the  ears  of  the  other  inquisitors,  whose 
indignation  was  rdused  by  his  apostacy.  Emissa- 
ries were  dispatched  in  pursuit  of  him,  and  he  was 
at  length  apprehended  and  conveyed  to  Heidle- 
berg,  where  he  was  committed  to  the  flames.  His 
dying  testimony  was  a  noble  attestation  to  the  prin- 
ciples and  conduct  of  the  Waldenses,  for  he  went 
to  the  stake  charging  it  upon  the  church  of  Rome 
as  a  monstrous  and  iniquitous  proceedure,  to  put 
to  death  so  many  innocent  persons,  for  no  other 
crime  but  their  steadfast  adherence  to  the  cause  of 


49 

Christ,  in  opposition  to  the  delusions  of  Antichrist. 
—Jones  383. 

In  1315,  Walter  Lollard,  a  German  preacher  of 
great  renown  among  the  Waldenses,  and  a  friend 
to  believers'  baptism,  came  to  England  and  preach- 
ed with  great  effect.  His  followers  and  the  Wal- 
denses generally,  in  England  for  many  generations 
after  him,  were  called  Lollards  ;  and  Crosby  has 
quoted  authorities  to  show  that  they  rejected  infant 
baptism,  as  a  needless  ceremony.  In  1371,  Dr. 
John  Wickliff  began  to  be  famous  in  England,  and 
it  is  clear  from  many  authors  that  he  rejected  infant 
baptism, — his  followers  agreed  with  the  Baptists. 

"  Walden  calls  Wickliff  one  of  the  seven  heads 
that  came  out  of  the  bottomless  pit,  for  denying  in- 
fant baptism  ;  that  heresy  (as  he  calls  it)  of  the 
Lollards,  of  whom  he  was  a  great  ring-leader. — 
Ivimey,  pp.  71-2 — Bened.  Hist.  Bap.  v.  1.  p.  192. 

In  this  century,  Carious,  bishop  of  Meyland,  did 
exhort  the  ministers  under  his  charge,  that  they 
should  first  teach  the  faith  ;  and  that  only  upon  a 
confession  of  faith,  and  a  good  conversation,  they 
should  administer  baptism. — Mering.  p.  270 — Jun- 
ius, Jun.  p.  78. 

The  Waldenses  (notwithstanding  their  severe 
persecution),  continued  to  increase  throughout  Ger- 
many, during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centu- 
ries. Four  hundred  and  forty  three  were  appre- 
hended by  the  inqusitors  in  Saxony  and  Pomera- 
niain  the  year  1391,  who  confessed  that  their  teach- 
ers came  from  Bohemia,  and  that  they  and  their 
ancestors  before  them,  had  been  instructed  in  the 
principles  they  then  held.  In  1457,  a  great  num- 
ber of  the  Waldenses  were  discovered  by  the  in- 
quisitors in  the  diocese  of  Eistein,  Germany,  who 
were  put  to  death,  and  who  confessed  that  they  had 
among  them  twelve  barbes,  or  pastors,  who  labour- 
ed in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  In  1 3 1 5  there  were 
80,000  Waldenses  in  Bohemia.— -Jones,  p.  383,400. 
5 


50 


FIFTEENTH  CENTURY. 


And  fear  not  them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the 
soul ;  but  rather  fear  him,  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and  bo- 
dy in  hell. — Mat.  x.  28. 

When  Christ  who  is  our  life  shall  appear,  then  shall  ye  also  ap- 
pear with  him  in  glory. — Col.  iii.  4. 


About  the  year  1400,  thejpersecutors  attacked 
the  Waldenses  of  the  valley  of  Pragela.  The  poor 
people  seeing  their  caves  possessed  by  their  ene- 
mies, who  assaulted  them  during  the  severity  of 
the  winter,  retreated  to  one  of  the  highest  moun- 
tains of  the  Alps,  the  mothers  carrying  cradles,  and 
leading  by  the  hand  those  little  children,  who  were 
able  to  walk.  Many  of  them  were  murdered,  oth- 
ers were  starved  to  death,  a  hundred  and  eighty 
children  were  found  dead  in  their  cradles,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  their  mothers  died  soon  after  them. 
In  the  valley  of  Loyse,  four  hundred  little  children 
were  found  suffocated  in  their  cradles,  or  in  the 
arms  of  their  deceased  mothers,  in  consequence  of 
a  great  quantity  of  wood  being  placed  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  caves  and  set  on  fire.  On  the  whole, 
above  three  thousand  persons  belonging  to  the  val- 
ley were  destroyed,  and  this  righteous  people  were 
in  that  place  exterminated. — Bened.  vl,  p.  119. 

In  this  century  the  Baptists  were  many,  espe- 
cially in  Bohemia,  which  the  confession  of  the  Tha- 
borites,  in  the  year  1431  confirms.  And  the  de- 
scription given  of  a  set  of  Christians  in  Bohemia, 
88  years  after  this  confession  does  almost  in  every 
thing  fit  the  modern  Baptists.  They  mutually  sa- 
lute one  another  by  the  name  of  brother  and  sister. 
They  own  no  other  authority  than  the  scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  They  slight  all  the 
(Catholic)  doctors  both  ancient  and  modern,  and 
give  no  regard  to  their  doctrine.  Such  as  come 
over  to  this  sect  must  every  one  be  baptized  anew, 
in  water. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  78 — Bened.  p.  166. 


I 


51 

Chessanion,  in  his  history  of  the  Albigenses, 
says,  "  that  which  confirms  me  yet  more  in  this  be- 
lief, (that  the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses  approv- 
ed not  the  baptism  of  infants),  is,  that  in  the  histo- 
ry of  the  city  of  Treves,  there  were  some,  who  de- 
nied that  the  sacrament  of  baptism  was  available  to 
the  salvation  of  infants  ;  and  one  Catharine  Saube, 
who  was  burnt  at  Montpelier,  in  the  year  1417,  for 
being  of  the  mind  of  the  Albigenses  in  not  believing 
the  traditions  of  the  Romish  church,  was  of  the  same 
mind  respecting  infant  baptism  ;  as  it  is  recorded  in 
the  register  of  the  town-house  of  the  said  city  of 
Montpelier.  The  truth  is,  (continues  Chessanion) 
they  did  not  reject  the  sacrament  and  saj  it  was 
useless,  but  only  counted  it  unnecessary  to  infants, 
because  they  are  not  of  age  to  believe,  nor  capable 
of  giving  evidence  of  their  faith.  That  which  in- 
duced them,  as  I  suppose,  to  entertain  this  opinion 
is,  what  our  Lord  says,  He  that  believeth  and  is 
baptized  shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not 
shall  be  damned." — Benedict's  History  Baptists, 
page  123-4. 

The  Waldenses. — The  king  of  France  being 
informed  by  the  enemies  of  the  Waldenses,  that 
several  henious  crimes  were  laid  to  their  account, 
sent  two  ofHcers,  to  make  enquiry  into  this  matter. 
On  their  return  they  reported  that  they  had  visited 
all  the  parishes  where  they  dwelt ;  had  inspected 
their  places  of  worship;  they  found  no  images,  nor 
signs  of  the  ornaments  belonging  to  the  mass  ;  no 
ceremonies  of  the  Romish  church,  much  less  could 
they  discover  any  traces  of  those  crimes  with 
which  they  were  charged.  On  the  contrary,  they 
kept  the  Sabbath  day  ;  observed  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  according  to  the  primitive  church ;  in- 
structed their  children  in  the  articles  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  the  commandments  of  God. 

Jones,  p.  338. 


52 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  people  that  walked  in  darkness,  have  seen  a  great  light ;  thejr 
that  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  shadow  of  death,  upon  them  hath  the 
light  shined. — Isaiah  ix.  2. 

Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  for  he  hath  visited  and  redeem- 
ed his  people. — Luke  i.  68. 


It  seems  reasonable  to  conclude  that  the  Walden- 
ses  must  have  beheld  with  infinite  satisfaction,  the 
seism  which  took  place  in  this  century  in  the  Ro- 
man church,  when  Luther  and  his  associates  with- 
drew from  its  communion.  For  independent  of  the 
labors  of  this  intrepid  reformer,  the  great  cause  for 
which  the  Waldenses  were  contending,  viz :  the 
purity  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  and  the  sim- 
plicity^ Christian  worship,  was  powerfully  sup- 
ported by  a  host  of  learned  men,  who  rose  up  in 
rapid  succession,  and  ranged  themselves  on  the 
side  of  Luther.  The  reformers  with  all  their  zeal 
and  learning,  were  babes  in  Scriptural  knowledge, 
when  compared  with  the  more  illiterate  Walden- 
ses, particularly  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,  its  institutions,  laws,  and  worship 
in  general ;  for  both  Luther  and  Calvin  always  con- 
tended for  a  form  of  national  Christianity — a  prin- 
ciple which  the  moment  it  is  received  into  the  mind, 
must  necessarily  darken  it  as  to  the  nature  and  king- 
dom of  Christ. — Jones,  p.  420. 

Martin  Luther  was  at  first  a  Catholic  priest,  also 
a  professor  of  divinity  in  the  university  of  Wittem- 
burgh,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  suc- 
cessful promoters  of  that  great  change  in  the  Chris- 
tian world,  which  has  been  denominated  the  re- 
formation. He  labored  chiefly  in  Germany,  but 
he  was  not  the  only  reformer  in  this  century  ;  Zu- 
inglius  preached  successfully  in  Switzerland,  Cal- 
vin, in  Geneva,  and  the  neighboring  regions,  and 
Simon  Menno,  in  part  of  Germany,  Holland,  Ne- 
therlands and  the  neighboring  states.  Luther  said 
that  faith  and  baptism  ought  always  to  go  together. 
— Bened.  v.  1,  p.  140. 


53 

Zuinglius,  according  to  his  own  confession  was  for 
a  time  inclined  to  reject  infant  baptism.*  Calvin, 
said  Christ  requires  teaching  before  baptizing. f 
But  Menno,  by  which  name  he  is  generally  distin- 
guished, was  like  Luther  at  first,  a  famous  Catho- 
lic preacher,  until  A.  D.  1531,  when  he  began  to 
suspect  the  validity  of  many  things  in  the  church 
of  Rome,  and  among  the  rest  that  of  infant  baptism, 
(indeed  the  Catholics  to  this  day  frankly  concede 
the  point  that  it  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Scrip- 
tures). About  a  year  after  he  left  the  Catholics, 
he  commenced  preaching  to  Baptist  congregations, 
and  continued  for  about  25  years  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, with  remarkable  success  ;  great  numbers  em- 
braced the  Baptist  sentiments,  and  many  of  their 
successors  retain  the  name  of  Mennonites,  or  Dutch 
Baptists,  to  this  day.  The  learned  Dr.  Limborch 
says,  "  to  speak  candidly  what  I  think  of  all  the  mo- 
dern sects  of  Christians,  the  Dutch  Baptists  most  re- 
semble both  the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses."  And 
Mosheim  notwithstanding  the  flimsy,  confused, 
and  in  many  instances,  the  erroneous  account  which 
he  gives  of  the  Waldenses,  yet  he  has  expressly 
owned,  that  before  the  rise  of  Luther  and  Calvin, 
there  lay  concealed  in  almost  all  the  countries  of 
Europe,  persons  who  adhered  tenaciously  to  the 
principles  of  the  modern  Dutch  Baptists  ;|  and 
their  principles  on  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  were 
just  what  he  (Mosheim)  relates  was  the  practice  of 
the  Christian  church  in  the  second  century,  which 
was,  that  "  the  sacrament  of  baptism  was  adminis- 
tered without  the  public  assemblies,  in  places  ap- 
pointed and  prepared  for  that  purpose,  and  was  per- 
formed by  immersion  of  the  whole  body  in  the  bap- 
tismal font."  Also,  that  the  persons  that  were  to 
be  baptized,  after  they  had  repeated  the  creed, 
confessed  and  renounced  their  sins,  and  particular- 

*  Benedict,  v.  1,  pp.  139,  140.      t  Pengilly,  p.  14. 
t  Jones,  p.  348. 

5* 


54 

ly  the  devil,  and  his  pompous  allurements,  were 
immersed  under  water,  and  received  into  Christ's 
kingdom  by  a  solemn  invocation  of  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost,  according  to  the  express  command 
of  our  blessed  Lord.  He  also  observes  that  adult 
persons,  were  prepared  for  baptism  by  abstinence, 
prayer,  and  other  pious  exercises.  It  was  to  an- 
swer for  them,  that  sponsors  or  godfathers  were  first 
instituted,  though  they  were  afterwards  admitted 
also  in  the  baptism  of  infants. §  And  Luther  the 
great  reformer,  said,  it  cannot  be  proved  from  Scrip- 
ture, that  infant  baptism  was  instituted  by  Christ, 
or  began  by  the  first  Christians,  after  the  Apostles.  || 
Tertullian  opposes  the  innovation  of  baptizing  chil- 
dren, and  among  other  objections  he  says,  "  what 
necessity  is  there  to  expose  sponsors  to  danger  ? 
Death  may  incapacitate  them  (the  sponsors)  for  ful- 
filling their  engagements,  or  bad  dispositions  [in 
the  children]  may  defeat  all  their  endeavors — when 
they  understand  Christianity,  let  them  profess  them- 
selves Christians,  for,  adds  he,  such  as  understand 
the  importance  of  baptism  are  more  afraid  of  pre- 
sumption than  procrastination,  and  faith  alone  se- 
cures salvation. — Robinson,  p.  171. 

When  the  first  churches  began  to  swerve  from 
the  form  of  sound  words,  to  corrupt  the  discipline 
of  the  house  of  God,  and  to  commit  fornication  with 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  by  forming  an  alliance  with  the 
state,  we  cease  to  trace  the  kingdom  of  Christ  among 
them,  but  we  shall  find  it  successively  among  the 
churches  of  the  Novatians,  the  followers  of  iErius, 
the  Paulicians,  the  Cathari  or  Puritans  in  Germa- 
ny ;  the  Paterines,  and  the  Waldenses,  until  the 
times  of  reformation. — Jones'  pref.  p.  v. 

Mr.  Morel,  pastor  of  a  Waldensian  church,  sta- 
ted that  in  the  year  1530t  there  were  above  eight 
hundred  thousand  persons  professing  the  religioa 

§  Mosheim,  v.  1,  pp.  108,  107. 

R  Poed.  Exam.  vii.  p.  4,  by  Pengilly  32. 


55 

of  the  Waldenses  ;  nor  will  this  appear  an  exagera- 
ted  statement,  if  we  consider  the  view  that  has  been 
given  of  their  dispersion  throughout  almost  every 
country  of  Europe — the  immense  number  that  suf- 
fered martyrdom,  and  that  in  the  year  1315,  there 
were  eighty  thousand  in  the  small  kingdom  of  Bo- 
hemia.* We  do  not  contend  that  all  those  eight 
hundred  thousand  were  of  the  Baptist  sentiments, 
but  from  their  dying  testimonies  at  the  stake,  the 
frequent  testimonies  their  enemies  gave  of  their 
contending  for  believers'  baptism,  from  their  own 
confession  of  faith,  and  their  declaring  that  bapti- 
zing children  into  the  faith  was  a  mark  of  antichrist, 
we  do  contend  that  great  numbers  held  and  prac- 
ticed, that  believers  in  Christ  were  the  only  pro- 
per subjects  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism. 

It  has  been  mentioned  by  some  authors  that  some 
of  the  Dutch  Baptists,  instead  of  immersing  believ- 
ers, poured  water  upon  them  ;  but  their  churches 
was  visited  by  the  English  Baptists  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  and  corresponded  with  them  for 
some  time  afterwards,  and  no  mention  made  of  their 
changing  the  ordinance.  Men  no  taught  the  doc- 
trine of  dipping  exclusively.  "  After  we  have 
searched  ever  so  diligently,  says  he,  we  shall  find 
no  other  baptism  besides  dipping  in  water,  which 
is  acceptable  to  God,  and  maintained  in  his  word, 
let  who  will  oppose,  this  is  the  only  mode  of  bap- 
tism that  Jesus  Christ  instituted  and  the  apostles 
taught  and  practised.!" 

The  condition  of  the  peasants  in  Germany,  in 
the  year  1524,  about  the  time  they  began  to  medi- 
tate a  revolt  from  the  galling  yoke  of  their  tyrani- 
cal  masters,  was  deplorable  indeed,  if  there  be  any 
thing  to  deplore  in  a  deprivation  of  most  of  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  rational  creatures.  What  ap- 
peared to  animate  them  at  this  time,  was,  that  Lu- 
ther and  his  associates  had  broke  (as  it  were)  out 

*  Jones,  p.  426..  1  Benedicts  hist.  v.  1,  p.  \5(K 


56 

of  prison  and  set  tyranny  at  defiance.  All  Europe 
knew  this,  and  as  all  had  as  many  reasons  and  as 
much  right  as  he  had,  all  were  agitated  and  some 
acted.  Luther  had  published  in  1520,  a  small  tract 
in  German,  on  christian  liberty,  which  was  read 
with  the  most  astonishing  avidity  and  the  contents 
communicated  by  such  as  could  read  to  others  who 
could  not. 

It  is  certain  that  the  disturbances  in  the  city  of 
Minister  were  began  by  a  minister  of  the  Lutheran 
pursation,  whose  name  was  Bernard  Rotman,  who 
was  assisted  in  his  endeavors  by  other  ministers  of 
the  same  persuasion,  and  they  began  to  teach  re- 
volutionary principles  a  year  before  the  Baptists, 
(whose  leaders  were  Muncer,  Stubner  and  Stork) 
visited  the  place.  These  things  the  Catholics  new, 
and  failed  not  to  improve  them  to  their  advantage. 
They  uniformly  insisted  that  Luthers  doctrine  led 
to  rebellion,  that  his  disciples  were  the  prime  mo- 
vers of  the  insurrection,  and  they  also  asserted 
that  a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  Lutherans  per- 
ished in  the  rustic  war. 

The  Lutheran  historians  from  whom  the  English 
take  their  account,  endeavor  to  clear  themselves 
by  accusing  the  Baptists  of  being  the  prime  movers 
and  principle  promoters  of  the  insurrection.  But 
the  facts  are,  that  the  three  hundred  thousand 
peasants  who  revolted  under  extreme  oppression, 
were  composed  of  Baptists,  ] Lutherans,  Catholics, 
and  a  still  greater  part,  of  persons  who  had  no  re- 
ligious opinions  at  all. 

Dr.  Isaac  Milner  acknowledges  that  the  causes 
of  the  rustic  war,  or  the  war  of  the  peasants  were, 
purely  secular. — Extracts  from  Benedict  hist.  Bap. 
v.  1,  c.  vi.  entitled  Munster. 

Twisk,  says  in  his  Cronology,  page  930,  that  in 
the  year  1507,  the  Waldenses  who  were  Baptists, 
were  much  spread  in  Hungary. 

And  as  a  satisfaction  that  these  Waldenses  were 
Baptists,  Montantus  in  his  Impress  the  second,  says, 


57 

that  the  Waldenses  in  the  public  declaration  of  their 
faith  to  the  French  king,  in  the  year  1521,  assert 
in  the  strongest  terms  the  baptizing  of  believers, 
and  denying  that  of  infants. — Junius,  Jun.  p.  78. 

The  Waldenses. — In  Provence,  in  France,  says 
Sleidon,  there  are  a  people  called  Waldenses,  who 
by  an  ancient  custom,  acknowledge  not  the  Pope 
of  Rome,  having  always  professed  a  greater  purity 
of  doctrine,  and  since  Luther  appeared,  eagerly 
thirsted  after  knowledge.  Many  times  had  they 
been  complained  of  to  the  king,  as  despisers  of  ma- 
gistrates, and  fomenters  of  rebellion,  which  envi- 
ous, rather  than  true  accusation,  is  by  most  (Catho- 
lics) made  use  of  to  this  day.  They  live  together  in 
some  towns  and  villages,  among  which  is  Merindole. 
About  five  years  since,  sentence  was  pronounced 
against  them  in  parliament,  "  that  they  shall  all 
promiscuously  be  destroyed,  thattheir  houses  shall 
be  pulled  down,  their  villages  levelled  with  the 
ground,  all  the  trees  also  cut  down,  and  the  place 
rendered  a  desert." 

The  Waldenses  to  remove  the  prejudice,  and  to 
manifest  their  innocence,  sent  their  Confession  of 
Faith  to  the  king  of  France.  Their  seventh  arti- 
cle is,  "  We  believe  that  in  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism, the  water  is  the  visible  and  external  sign, 
which  represents  to  us,  that,  which  by  virtue  of 
God's  invisible  operations,  is  within  us,  viz  :  the 
renovation  of  our  minds,  and  the  mortification  of 
our  members  through  [the  faith  of]  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  by  this  ordinance  we  are  received  into  the 
holy  congregation  of  God's  people,  previously  pro- 
fessing and  declaring  our  faith  and  change  of  life." 

The  above  sentence  was  deferred  five  years, 
when  it  was  then  executed  in  full  force,  and  dread- 
ful were  their  sufferings  by  fire  and  sword,  to  both 
men,  women  and  children.  [There  are  three  of  their 
Confessions  of  Faith  in  Jones'  Church  History,  and 
not  the  least  intimation  of  infant  baptism  in  either ; 
this  last  one  is  dated  1540.] — Jones  pp.  326,  431. 


58 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ ;  shall  tribulation, 
or  distress,  or  persecution,  or  famine,  or  nakedness,  or  peril,  or 
6\vord.  (As  it  is  written),  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day 
long,  we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter. — Romans  viii. 
35,  36. 


For  most  part  of  this  century,  the  Waldenses 
were  most  cruelly  persecuted  in  several  of  their  val- 
lies,  and  in  the  adjacent  country  where  they  resi- 
ded ;  but  at  length  the  armies  of  France  and  Sa- 
voy, having  inhumanly  destroyed  a  vast  number 
of  them,  committed  more  than  twelve  thousand  of 
them  to  prison,  and  dispersed  two  thousand  of  their 
children  among  the  Catholics,  considering  that  their 
work  was  accomplished,  they  caused  all  their  pro- 
perty to  be  confiscated.  And  thus  were  the  val- 
leys of  Piedmont  depopulated  of  their  ancient  in- 
habitants, and  the  light  of  the  glorious  gospel  ex- 
tinguished in  a  country  where  for  many  preceding 
centuries,  it  had  shone  with  resplendant  Lusture. 
These  brief  sketches,  will  not  permit  giving  a  de- 
tailed account  of  their  suffering  in  prison  ;  of  the 
dreadful  sufferings  of  those  who  were  released 
when  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow  and  ice, 
to  find  a  refuge  in  foreign  countries  ;  nor  of  the 
almost  endless  torments  and  cruelties  which  were 
heaped  upon  them  by  their  persecuting  enemies  ; 
nor  of  the  kind  reception  they  met  with  when  they 
arrived  at  Switzerland,  Geneva,  and  other  places. 

At  Geneva  they  experienced  that  kind  and  hos- 
pitable reception  which  was  due  to  them  as  their 
fellow-creatures,  and  more  especially  as  their  per- 
secuted Christian  brethren.  They  clothed  the  na- 
ked, fed  the  hungry,  succoured  the  afflicted,  and 
healed  the  sick.  But  it  was  not  only  at  Geneva 
that  the  Waldenses  met  with  this  kind  and  hospi- 
table treatment.  The  Cantons  of  Switzerland  open- 
ed to  them  their  country,  and  not  their  country 


59 

only,  but  their  hearts  and  affections  also.  The  con- 
duct of  the  Swiss  indeed  was  so  noble  and  disinte- 
rested throughout  the  whole  of  this  distressing  pe- 
riod, that  it  would  be  unjust  to  their  memory  to 
pass  it  over  with  slight  mention.— Jones  p.  542. 

The  Baptist  Churches  increased  very  much  on 
the  continent  of  Europe  in  this  century.  There 
were  also,  above  one  hundred  Baptist  churches  in 
England,  and  about  twelve  in  America.* 

TheWaldenses. — If  we  calmly  review  the  con- 
duct of  the  court  of  Rome  towards  the  Waldenses, 
and  mark  the  savage  ferocity  with  which  they  had 
nowr  for  several  successive  centuries,  invariably 
pursued  them ;  how,  w7hen  exiled  from  one  coun- 
try, they  wTere  followed  to  another,  and  that  nothing 
short  of  their  total  extirpation  could  satisfy  their 
cruel  adversaries,  we  can  scarcely  refrain  from  ap- 
plying to  them  the  affecting  language  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, "  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long; 
we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter." 

Those  who  have  made  the  couduct  of  divine  Pro- 
vidence towards  the  primitive  church  their  study, 
will  not  be  stumbled  at  this  apparent  desertion  of 
the  Waldenses,  nor  regard  the  ostensible  triumph 
of  the  [Catholic]  church,  as  any  indication  of  the 
weakness  of  the  truth  professed  by  them.  For  not- 
withstanding the  extreme  rigour  of  their  persecu- 
tions, we  find  that  God  hath  tenderly  preserved 
them  till  the  Reformation,  and  though  he  has 
often  exposed  them  to  the  rage  and  barbarous  usage 
of  their  persecutors,  yet  he  has  from  time  to  time, 
afforded  numbers  of  them  such  deliverances,  as 
have  enabled  them  to  continue  unto  this  day. 

Their  persecutors,  like  those  of  the  apostolic 
churches,  have  only  served  to  procure  martyrs  to 
the  truth  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  Christ  and  to  dis- 
perse throughout  every  land,  the  knowledge  of 
those  important  doctrines  and  ordinances  of  his 
house,  which  were  at  first  delivered  to  the  saints,  f 

*  Benedict's  Hist.  Bap.  t  Jone9,  p.  546. 


60 


EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Sing  unto  the  Lord  a  new  song,  and  his  praise  from  the  end  of  the 
earth,  ye  that  go  down  to  the  sea,  all  that  is  therein,  the  isles,  and 
the  inhabitants  thereof. — Isaiah  xlii.  10. 


Sketches  of  the  English  Baptists. — Barteus,  in 
Cent.  1,  FoL37,  says,  "  That  the  British  Church 
received  the  faith  ;  whence  it  was  that  Chrysostom 
and  others  of  the  Greek  fathers,  make  such  fre- 
quent and  great  mention  of  the  British  Isles,  their 
reception  of  the  gospel,  and  the  divine  sense  they 
had  of  the  power  thereof, — that  the  churches  were 
exactly  constituted  according  to  Christ's  pattern.* 
The  Baptist  historians  in  England,  contend  that  the 
first  British  Christians  practiced  believers'  baptism, 
and  that  they  maintained  these  principles  until  the 
coming  of  Austin  (a  Catholic  priest)  in  the  sixth 
century,  for  when  the  ancient  Brittons  refused  to 
hear  him,  he  said  to  them,  (as  Fabean  in  his  his- 
tory  relates)  "  Assent  you  to  me  in  three  things, 
first  in  keeping  Easter-Day,  in  the  form  and  time 
as  it  is  ordered  ;  second,  that  you  give  Christen- 
dom to  children  ;  third,  that  you  preach  to  the 
Saxons,  as  I  have  ordered  you,"  &c.  &c.f  We 
have  no  mention  of  the  Christening  or  baptizing  of 
children  in  England,  before  the  coming  of  Austin. 
Many  of  these  ancient  Christians  were  driven  into 
Wales,  and  the  Welch  Baptists  contend  that  the 
Baptist  principles  were  maintained  in  the  recesses 
of  their  mountainous  principality,  all  along  the  dark 
ages  of  popery 4 

We  have  several  intimations  of  the  Waldenses 
passing  from  the  continent  to  England,  the  first  in 
the  fifth  century,  from  France,  to  assist  in  preach- 
ing against  the  Pelagian  error  ;  the  Lord  blessed 
their  labors,  and  they  baptized  a  great  number  up- 

*  Junius,  Jun.  p.  37.  t  Junius,  Jun.  p.  39. 

|  Extracts  from  Benedict's  hist.  Bap.  v.  1,  p.  191. 


61 

on  confession  of  faith,  in  a  river  near  Chester.  We 
find  that  there  was  a  Christian  unity  and  corres- 
pondence between  the  Brittons  and  the  ancient 
Christians  in  France,  who  were  afterwards  called 
Waldenses.  These  are  said  by  Morland,  in  his 
preface  to  the  French  Bible,  to  have  always  had 
the  full  enjoyment  of  the  heavenly  truth  contain- 
ed in  the  holy  vScriptures,  ever  since  they  were 
enriched  with  the  same  by  the  apostles  themselves, 
having  in  fair  manuscripts  preserved  the  Bible,  en- 
tire in  their  own  tongue.*  In  the  time  of  William 
the  conqueror,  A.  D.  1066,  it  appears  that  the  Wal- 
denses did  abound  in  England,  as  Bishop  Usher  tells 
us  in  his  book  of  the  state  and  succession  of  the 
Church,  p.  242,  and  during  the  reign  of  Henry  I., 
the  Bishop  tells  us,  that  the  Waldenses  of  Aquitain. 
did  about  the  year  1100  spread  their  doctrine  all 
over  Europe,  and  in  England  in  particular ;  and 
from  these  Waldenses,  sprung  the  Lollards,  from 
Walter  Lollard,  a  friend  to  believers'  baptism,  and 
a  great  preacher  among  them  in  England,jin  the  time 
of  Edward  III.  f  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  a  number  of  the  Waldenses  who 
spoke  the  German  language  were  propagating  the 
gospel  in  England,  but  when  they  attracted  public 
attention,  about  thirty  of  them,  with  Gerhardus  and 
Dulcinus,  two  of  their  bishops  or  teachers,  were 
apprehended  by  order  of  Henry  II.,  who  called 
a  council  at  Oxford,  being  interrogated  about  their 
religion,  Gerhardus,  a  man  of  learning,  answer- 
ed in  their  name,  that  they  were  Christians,  and 
believed  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel.  They  were 
orthodox,  (says  the  Catholics)  as  to  the  Trinity  and 
incarnation,  but  denied  the  Catholic  doctrine  of 
purgatory,  prayers  for  the  dead,  invocation  of 
saints,  baptism,  eucarist,  marriage,  and  the  com- 
munion of  saints  ;  they  showed  much  modesty  and 

t  Junius.  Jun.  pp.  41,  42.  *  Morland's  hist.  i>.  14 

6 


62 

meekness  in  their  whole  behaviour  ; — when  they 
were  threatened  with  death  in  order  to  oblige  them 
to  renounce  their  tenets,  they  only  said,  u  Bles- 
sed are  they  that  suffer  for  righteousness  sake."— 
There  is  no  difficulty,  says  Mr.  Ivimey,  in  under- 
standing their  heretical  sentiments  ;  for  when  a 
Catholic  says  they  rejected  the  eucharist,  it  was 
the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  ;  when  they  re- 
jected marriage,  they  denied  it  to  be  a  sacrament, 
but  a  civil  institution  ;  when  they  rejected  baptism, 
they  rejected  the  baptism  of  infants  ;  when  they 
rejected  the  communion  of  saints,  it  was  that  they 
refused  to  hold  communion  with  the  corrupt  church 
of  Rome.*  These  appears  to  be  the  errors  for  which 
they  were  branded  with  a  hot  iron,  whipt,  turned 
into  the  open  fields  in  winter,  none  being  allowed 
to  assist  them,  and  many  perished  through  cold  and 
hunger.  This  sect,  says  William  of  Neuburg,  a 
Catholic  historian,  were  called  Paulicians,  or  Pub- 
licani,  whose  original  was  from  Gascoyne,  who 
being  as  numerous  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  did 
sorely  infest  France,  Italy,  Spain,  and  England. — 
About  twenty  years  from  this  period,  another 
Catholic  writer,  (Guitmond)  observes,  that  not 
only  the  weaker  sort,  in  country  villages,  but  the 
nobility  and  gentry  in  the  chief  towns  and  cities 
were  infected  with  this  Waldensian  heresy.  About 
the  year  1218,  the  Friar's  minorites  were  sent  over 
from  the  continent  to  suppress  the  Waldensian  here- 
sy, and  many,  doubtless,  suffered  by  their  means. 
John  Wickliff,  who  was  a  graduate  in  Merton  Col- 
lege, Oxford,  and  a  Baptist,  who  taught  in  the  year 
1371,  that  believers  after  the  example  of  Christ, 
should  be  baptized  in  pure  water,  and  that  it  was 
not  lawful  for  believers  who  had  received  the  bap- 
tism of  the  spirit,  to  neglect  the  baptism  of  water. 
Fla.  Iliricus  Calat.  Test,  page  403,  from  whom 
Bishop  Usher  begins  the  English  reformation,  as  he 

*  Bened.  hist.  Bap.  v.  1,  pp.  192,  194,  195. 


/ 


6S 

translated  the  Bible  out  of  the  Latin  into  English, 
and  is  the  first  Bible  we  (the  English)  have.  He 
taught  that  no  rule  or  ceremony  ought  to  be  receiv- 
ed into  the  church,  which  is  not  plainly  confirmed 
by  the  Word  of  God.— Fuller,  p.  132,— Juuius, 
Jun.  p.  43. 

In  the  year  1400,  Henry  IV.,  enacted  the  cruel 
statute  for  burning  heretics.  William  Sawtree,  (once 
a  Catholic  priest)  was  the  first  that  was  burnt  for 
being  a  Lollard.  The  sufferings  of  the  Baptists 
and  all  other  evangelical  dissenters,  from  this  period 
to  the  reformation,  were  very  great.  The  Lollards 
Tower,  still  stands  a  monument  of  their  miseries, 
and  the  cruelty  of  their  implacable  enemies.  They 
were  cruelly  persecuted,  because  they  would  not, 
(having  no  command  nor  example)  baptize  their 
new  born  infants. — Dutch  Martyrology,  Fol.  774. 
— Junius,  Jun.  p.  44. 

By  a  speech  which  Henry  VIII.  delivered  to  his 
parliament,  A.  D.  1545,  it  appears  that  many  of 
his  subjects  went  under  the  name  of  Baptists.  Bish- 
op Latimore  says,  in  a  sermon  preached  before 
Edward  VI.,  that  many  Baptists  were  burnt  in  di- 
vers towns  in  England,  and  died  martyrs  cheerful- 
ly, and  that  he  had  been  informed  by  a  credible 
person  that  there  was  at  that  time  in  one  town  in 
England  more  than  five  hundred  heretics,  who  held 
the  erroneous  opinions  of  the  Baptists. — Junius, 
Jun.  45. 

The  change  which  took  place  in  the  sixteenth 
century  under  Henry  VIII.  (when  the  Episcopal 
church  was  established)  was  in  the  end  favorable 
to  the  cause  of  religion  ;  the  fetters  of  Popery  were 
broken  ;  the  scriptures  in  the  English  language 
were  sanctioned  by  parliament,  and  by  their  means, 
evangelical  principles  were  diffused  throughout  the 
land.  But  persecuting  laws  were  still  in  force,  and 
the  ruling  party,  both  in  church  and  state,  had  a 
disposition  to  put  them  in  execution.     In  1549,   t 


64 

kind  of  protestant  inquisition  was  established,  which 
consisted  of  the  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  bishops, 
and  noblemen,  any  three  of  whom  being  a  quorum, 
were  instructed  to  examine  and  search  after  all  Bap- 
tist heretics.  Many  Baptists  were  apprehended ; — 
how  many  were  executed,  we  are  not  informed, 
but  we  are  sure  that  two  were  ;  Joan  Boucher — 
and  George  Van  Pare,  a  Dutchman,  were  commit- 
ted to  the  flames  ;  great  exertions  were  made  to 
save  the  unfortunate  Joan,  who  had  been  compell- 
ed by  her  Bible  and  conscience  to  become  a  Baptist. 
A  person  supposed  to  be  Fox,  author  of  the  "  Book 
of  Martyrs,"  earnestly  entreated  the  famous  John 
Rogers,  to  use  his  interest  with  the  archbishop  to 
save  the  poor  woman  from  the  cruel  death  to  which 
she  had  been  doomed  ;  but  Rogers  answered  that 
burning  alive  was  no  cruel  death,  but  easy  enough. 
Fox,  astonished  at  such  an  answer,  replied,  "  well, 
perhaps  it  may  so  happen  that  you  yourselves,  will 
have  your  hands  full  of  this  mild  burning  ;"  and  so 
it  came  to  pass,  for  Rogers  was  the  first  man  who 
was  burnt  in  Queen  Mary's  reign. 

At  the  commencement,  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, Edward  Wightman  wras  burnt  at  Litchfield, 
being  a  Baptist,  and  the  last  that  suffered  death  for 
heresy  in  England  ;  he  is  supposed  to  be  the  pro- 
genitor of  a  large  family  of  that  name  in  America. 
In  this  century,  the  Baptist  sentiments  prevailed 
greatly  in  England  and  Wales,  and  althouh  Mr. 
Wightman  was  the  last  that  suffered  death  for  right- 
eousness sake,  yet  thousands  of  Baptists  were  fin- 
ed, imprisoned,  afflicted  and  tormented  in  almost 
every  part  of  England.  M  The  Baptists,"  said  Robert 
Bailie  in  a  work  he  published  against  them,  "  have 
lifted  up  their  heads  and  increased  their  number 
above  all  the  seets  in  the  land."  As  the  Baptists 
were  accused  of  holding  many  dangerous  opinions, 
seven  of  their  churches  met,  and  put  forth  a  Con- 
fession of  Faith  (which  can  be  seen  in  NeaPs  His- 


65 

tory  of  the  Puritans)  for  the  purpose  of  clearing 
themselves  from  such  unjust  aspersions.  It  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  many  of  the  members  of  par- 
liament, and  produced  such  an  effect,  that  some  of 
their  greatest  adversaries  were  obliged  to  acknowl- 
edge, that  excepting  the  article  against  infant  bap- 
tism, it  was  an  orthodox  confession. 

Mr.  Ivimey,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  Baptists, 
supposes  that  in  and  about  London,  in  A.  D.,  1646, 
there  were  46  Baptist  Churches.  In  1689,  dele- 
gates from  upwards  of  one  hundred  Baptist  church- 
es in  England  and  Wales  met  in  London,  for  the 
purpose  of  enquiring  into  the  state  of  their  church- 
es, and  adopting  measures  for  their  future  prosperi- 
ty. These  sketches  are  too  limited  to  particular- 
ize individual  characters,  but  we  can  with  the  great- 
est propriety  say,  that  there  are,  and  have  been,  a 
great  number  of  eminent  characters  for  piety,  zeal, 
and  learning  in  Great  Britain,  who  have  held,  and 
borne  testimony  that  believers'  baptism  is  an  insti- 
tution of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  among  them  are 
all  degrees  of  Collegiate  honors,  and  some  who 
are  of  the  most  respectable  talents  as  authors  and 
ministers  of  the  gospel ;  many  are  now  preaching 
to  Baptist  churches  in  Great  Britain  and  America, 
many  are  missionaries  in  the  East  Indies,  associa- 
ted with  that  venerable  servant  of  God,  Dr.  Carey, 
and  there  are  many  dispersed  in  other  parts  of  the 
Lord's  Vineyard. 

In  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Baptist  principles 
continued  to  increase  extensively,  throughout  the 
whole  of  Great  Britain.  In  1784,  it  was  resolved 
by  an  association  held  at  Nottingham,  to  set  apart 
an  hour  the  first  Monday  evening  in  every  month, 
for  extraordinary  prayer,  for  the  revival  of  religion, 
and  for  the  extension  of  Christs  kingdom  in  the 
world,  since  known  by  the  name  of  the  monthly 
concert  for  prayer.  In  1792  the  Baptist  Missiona- 
ry Society  was  formed  at  Kettering/whichhas  since, 
6* 


66 

by  its  wonderful  acts  astonished  the  Christian  world, 
and  made  the  word  of  God  accessable  to  millions 
in  Indies  benighted  realm.  From  information  re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Thomas,  who  had  been  to  India,  he 
had  learned  the  language,  and  preached  a  few  years. 
The  committee  of  this  infant  society,  which  consist- 
ed of  Messrs.  Ryland,  Hogg,  Carey,  Sutcliff,  and 
Fuller,  were  fully  of  opinion  that  a  door  was  now 
open  for  a  mission  in  the  East  Indies.  In  1793, 
Mr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Carey  and  family,  sailed  as  the 
first  Baptist  Missionaries  for  India,  since  that  peri- 
od, a  number  of  other  missionaries  have  followed 
and  translated  the  scriptures  in  a  number  of  the 
India  languages  ;  the  Lord  has  greatly  owned  and 
blessed  their  labours,  and  Dr.  Carey's  motto  through 
all  their  arduous  undertakings  has  been,  "  attempt 
great  things,  expect  great  things ;"  and  truly  we 
may  say,  the  Lord  hath  enabled  him  and  his  as- 
sociates to  realize  great  things.*  And  the  English 
Baptists  at  home,  as  well  as  abroad,  can  truly  say. 
in  the  language  of  the  Psalmist,  "  the  Lord  hath 
done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad." 
The  number  of  Baptist  churches  in  Great  Britain 
and  East  Indies,  in  1824,  were  900 ;  there  were  800 
ministers,  and  about  84,000  communicants,  f 

The  Waldenses,  I  call,  (says  Milton,)  as  they 
are  called  in  these  official  dispatches,  by  the  gene- 
ral known  name  of  Protestants  ;  but  the  dissenters 
from  the  Papal  church,  who  occupied  the  vallies 
of  Piedmont,  had  neither  connexion  nor  a  common 
origin  with  those  who  were  properly  called  Protest- 
ants. [From  one  of  the  first  acts  of  this  association 
in  Germany,]  the  Waldenses  asserted  a  much  more 
ancient  pedigree,  and  assumed  to  be  of  the  old  Ro- 
man church,  before  it  was  corrupted  by  the  Papal 
innovation, — see  Life  of  Milton,  2d  Edit.  1810,  p. 
317,  319.— Jones  Ch.  Hist,  note  to  p.  491. 

*  Extract  from  Benedict's  valuable  history  of  the  Bap.  v.  1,  pp. 
188,  246,  t  Bened.  Hist,  of  all  Religions,  p.  295. 


67 


NINETEENTH  CENTURY. 

The  wilderness,  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  for  them,  and 
the  desert  shall  rejoice,  and  blossom  as  the  rose,  it  shall  blossom 
abundantly,  and  rejoice,  even  with  joy  and  singing  ;  the  glory  of 
Lebanon  shall  be  given  unto  it  ;  the  excellency  of  Carmel  and  Sha- 
ron, they  shall  see  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  the  excellency  of  our 
God. — Isaiah,  xxxv.  1,  2. 


A  few  Historical  Sketches  of  the  American 
Baptists. 

The  first  Baptist  Church  of  Christ  in  America, 
was  organized  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  A.  D.  1639. 
The  number  of  its  members  was  just  equal  to  the 
number  of  the  apostles,  twelve.  Mr.  Roger  Williams, 
a  pious  and  zealous  Minister  of  the  Gospel,  their 
first  pastor,  and  the  founder  of  the  state  of  Rhode- 
Island  ;  a  native  of  Wales, — born  A.  D.  1593;  libe- 
rally educated,  under  the  patronage  of  Sir  Edward 
Coke;  entered  on  the  study  of  law  ;  after  pursuing 
it  some  time  he  turned  his  attention  to  divinity,  and 
made  such  proficiency  therein,  as  encouraged  Sir 
Edward  to  obtain  him  Episcopal  Orders.  His  preach- 
ing was  highly  esteemed,  and  his  private  character 
revered;  but  by  embracing  the  sentiments  of  the 
Puritans,  he  was  greatly  exposed  to  suffering,  and 
at  last  compelled  to  leave  his  native  country.  He 
embarked  for  America,  A.  D.  1631.  After  his  ar- 
rival, he  preached  for  the  Puritan  churches  in  Sa- 
lem and  Plymouth,  three  or  four  years  ;  at  length, 
for  preaching  Baptist  sentiments,  maintaining  liber- 
ty of  conscience,  and  that  civil  magistrates,  as  such, 
have  no  power  in  the  church,  and  that  Christians, 
as  such,  are  subject  to  no  laws  nor  control,  but 
those  of  King  Jesus,  he  so  enraged  the  magistrates, 
that  they  excluded  and  banished  him  out  of  their 
coast.  The  town  was  enraged  at  the  magistrates, 
and  several  of  their  inhabitants  followed  their  Min- 
ister. The  candidates  for  communion,  nominated 
and  appointed  Mr.  Ezekiel  Holliman,  a  man  of  gifts 


68 

and  piety,  to  baptize  Mr.  Williams,  who  baptized 
the  others.  This  church  was  soon  joined  by  12 
others  ;  and  their  successors  have  one  of  the  largest 
meeting  houses,  and  the  greatest  number  of  com- 
municants of  almost  any  church  in  the  U.  States. 
To  those  who  are  partial  for  a  succession  of  minis- 
ters, it  is  observed,  if  there  is  any  virtue  in  succes- 
sion, the  Baptists  certainly  have  all  the  benefits 
that  can  possibly  be  derived  ;  for  Catholic,  Epis- 
copalian, Puritan,  Presbyterian,  and  other  minis- 
ters have  in  a  great  number  of  instances,  united 
with  their  churches.  And  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Will- 
iams, he  was  first  Episcopal,  then  a  Puritan  minis- 
ter, and  lastly,  upon  profession  of  his  faith,  was, 
agreeable  to  the  command  of  our  Lord,  buried  with 
Christ  in  baptism,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  admitted,  that  the  Most 
High  has  always  had  his  churches  and  people  in 
every  age,  since  the  decease  of  the  apostles,  but 
to  attempt  to  trace  a  regular  succession  of  ordained 
bishops  in  the  vallies  of  Piedmont,  or  any  other 
country,  "  is  laboring  in  the  fire  for  very  vanity," 
and  seems  to  me,  (says  that  excellent  writer,  Mr. 
W.  Jones,)  to  proceed  upon  mistaken  vieW£  of  the 
nature  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  and  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  God,  in  his  operations  in  the  earth,  as 
they  have  respect  unto  it.  Jesus  himself,  in  reply 
to  the  Pharises,  (Lukexvii.  20,  24,)  compares  his 
kingdom  to  the  lightning,  darting  its  rays  in  the 
most  sovreign  and  uncontroled  manner  from  one 
extremity  of  the  heavens  to  the  other.  Wherever 
the  blessed  God  has  his  elect,  there  in  his  own  pro- 
per time  he  sends  his  Gospel  to  save  them.  One 
while  we  see  it  diffusing  its  heavenly  light  on  a  par- 
ticular region,  and  leaving  another  in  darkness. — 
Then  it  takes  up  its  residence  in  the  latter,  and 
forsakes  the  former. — Jones  pref.  p.  v. 

It  is  indeed  worthy  of  observation,  to  seethe  hand 
of  God  in  the  dispersion  and  in  the  gathering  of  his 


69 

church  and  people  ;  for  while  these  ancient  follow- 
ers of  Christ,  the  Waldenses,  about  this  period  of 
the  world  (the  17th  century)  were  so  dreadfully- 
persecuted,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  vallies  who 
escaped  death  had  to  flee  to  other  countries.  The 
light  of  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  were 
just  darting  their  heavenly  beams  in  a  country  that 
was  a  wilderness,  as  if  a  part  of  the  true  winesses 
for  the  worship,  doctrine,  and  ordinances  of  the 
gospel  church  which  had  remained  among  them 
from  the  time  of  the  apostles,  were  now  to  be  re- 
moved to  the  wilds  of  America  ;  there  animated  by 
the  same  spirit,  others  were  to  bear  witness  to  those 
important  truths  of  the  gospel,  for  which  so  many 
millions  of  them  had  laid  down  their  lives,  not 
counting  them  dear  for  Christ's  sake. 

The  true  grounds  of  liberty  of  conscience  were 
not  understood  in  this  country  until  Mr.  Williams, 
and  Dr.  John  Clark,  (pastor  of  the  first  Baptist 
church  in  Newport,  R.I.)  publicly  avowed  that 
Christ  alone  is  king  in  his  kingdom,  and  that  no 
others  had  authority  over  his  subjects  in  the  affairs 
of  conscience  and  eternal  salvation.  Mr.  Williams 
justly  claims  the  honor  of  being  the  first  legislator 
in  the  world,  that  fully  and  effectually  provided 
for,  and  established  a  free,  full  and  absolute  li- 
berty of  conscience. 

The  second  Baptist  church  was  constituted  in 
Newport,  R.  I.,  A.  D.  1644  ;  by  the  year  1705, 
there  were  16  churches  constituted,  and  not  many 
years  after,  they  amounted  to  37.* 

In  A.  D.  1707,  at  Philadelphia  was  formed  the 
first  Baptist  association  in  America,  consisting  of 
five  churches.  This,  with  some  other  associations, 
have  given,  in  their  minutes  a  short  compendium 
of  the  sentiments  of  the  Baptist  churches  ;  which 
are,  to  "  Maintain  inviolably,  the  important  doc- 

*  Bened.  hist.  Bap.  p.  272,  452,  460. 


70 

trines  of  three  equal  persons  in  the  Godhead.  Eter- 
nal and  personal  election.  Original  sin.  Particu- 
lar redemption.  Free  justification  by  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  imputed.  The  absolute  necessity  of 
the  Spirit's  operation.  Efficacious  grace  in  regene- 
ration. The  obligation  of  believers  to  attend  to  all 
the  precepts  of  Scripture.  The  final  perseverance 
of  real  believers.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
The  general  judgment  of  the  last  day.  The  eter- 
nal happiness  of  the  righteous,  and  the  everlasting 
misery  of  such  as  die  impenitent.  The  baptism  of 
believers  by  immersion  ;  and  the  independence  of 
their  respective  churches." 

In  1740,  a  powerful  work  of  grace  began  in  New- 
England,  and  prevailed  much  in  other  parts  of  the 
United  States.  This  work  commenced  under  the 
ministry  of  that  honored  servant  of  God,  Mr.  Geo. 
Whitfield,  who  was  then  travelling  as  a  flaming  itin- 
erant along  the  American  coast ; — vast  multitudes 
were  awakened  by  his  means  and  brought  to  bow 
to  the  sceptre  of*immanuel. 

In  1790,  there  were  in  the  United  States  and 
territories,  868  churches,  1100  ministers,  and  about 
65,000  communicants.*  Baptist  churches  and  com- 
municants, since  that  period,  have  increased  with 
astonishing  rapidity  ;  great  indeed,  have  been  the 
number  of  those  that  have  proclaimed  his  word, 
and  the  blessing  of  the  King  of  kings  hath  crowned 
their  labors  with  great  success.  Colleges  and  Theo- 
logical seminaries  are  established  in  the  states  of 
Maine,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode-Island,  N. 
York,  and  Washington  City.  Foreign  and  domes- 
tic missions  are  also  established  ;  so  that  a  number 
of  missionaries  are  supported  among  the  benighted 
Burmans,  in  India  ;  a  number  on  our  frontiers, 
among  the  tawney  natives  of  the  forest ;  also  a  num- 
ber who  are  laboring  in  other  destitute  regions.-— 

*  Benedicts  Ch.  Hist.  y.  1,  pp.  273,  276. 


71 

About  a  dozen  religious  periodicals  are  published 
by  our  brethren,  in  different  sections  of  the  Union. 
The  Baptist  general  Tract  Society,  which  from  its 
judicious  arrangement,  promises  to  be  exceeding 
useful.  We  in  common  also  with  other  religious 
denominations,  partake  in  the  benevolent  institu- 
tions of  the  day,  such  as,  Bible,  Tract,  Sunday 
School  Societies,  &c.  &c. 

But  above  all  the  blessings  with  which  God  has, 
in  infinite  goodness  favored  us  with,  that  unering 
standard  of  divine  truth,  the  Holy  Scriptures^  in 
our  native  language,  is  the  most  valuable.  Benevo- 
lent institutions  have  made  them  aecessable  to  eve- 
ry grade  in  society  ;  so  that  they  can  be  obtained 
like  the  blessings  of  the  precious  gospel  of  Christ, 
without  money,  and  without  price.  The  Walden- 
ses  of  Piedmont,  who  had  the  Scriptures  only  in 
manuscript,  soon  after  the  art  of  printing  was  made 
known,  went  to  Switzerland,  and  had  an  entire  im- 
pression of  the  whole  Bible  in  French,  for  which 
they  paid  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  crowns  of  gold.* 
Like  them  let  us  prize  the  Bible  above  the  most 
valuable  treasures  ;  may  their  truths  be  impressed 
upon  our  minds,  and  the  life  giving  word  engraved 
upon  our  hearts.  We  learn  that  when  these  faith- 
full  followers  of  Christ  travelled  to  vend  their  wares, 
they  were  always  provided  with  extempore  ser- 
mons, by  repeating  chapters,  and  even  whole  books, 
from  what  they  had  committed  to  memory,  from  their 
scriptural  manuscripts.!  They  dwelt  a  great  part 
of  the  Christian  era,  with  the  sword  of  persecution 
suspended  over  their  heads.  But  we  are  so  highly 
favored  of  the  Lord,  that  our  excellent  government 
protects  every  religious  denomination  ;  so  that  in 
our  worship,  we  have  none  to  fear ;  none  to  make 
us  afraid.  And  as  a  denomination,  we  may  with 
the  greatest  propriety  say,  that  the  Lord  hath  done 

*  Jones,  p.  458.  t  Jones,  p.  341. 


72 

great,  exceeding  great  things  for  us ;  but  we  would 
not  glory  in  the  great  accumulation  of  strength,  nor 
would  we  glory  in  our  great  accession  of  numbers, 
but  we  would  ascribe  all  glory  to  God  alone,  who 
in  the  darkest  seasons  of  persecution,  and  distress, 
hath  so  preserved  his  church,  that  since  the  God 
of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  on  earth,  which  was 
the  beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God  as  proclaimed  by  his  servant,  John  the 
Baptist,  that  there  have  been  a  people  who  have 
held  and  borne  testimony  that  believers'  baptism  is 
an  institution  of  the  Lord  Jeeus  Christ,  and  who 
have  maintained  the  worship  of  God  and  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Gospel  church,  in  their  ancient  purity, 
as  they  were  at  first  delivered  to  the  saints  of  God. 
The  whole  number  of  Baptist  churches  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  in  1827,  were  over  4,400 ;  there  were 
3,300  ministers,  and  above  300,000 communicants. 
r^TjiE  Waldenses,  who  now  bear  the  name  of 
German  Baptists,  Mennonites,  and  Dutch  Baptists, 
have  successively  been  given  to  the  same  denomi- 
nation of  Christians,  who  are  acknowledged,  both 
by  friends  and  foes,  to  be  the  descendants  of  the 
Waldenses.  Petrobusians,  and  other  eminent  and 
ancient  sects,  whose  origin,  according  to  Mosheim, 
is  hid  in  the  remote  depths  of  antiquity.  After 
Menno's  time,  they  were  generally  called  Mennon- 
ites, but  the  Mennonites  in  process  of  time  settled 
mostly  in  Holland,  and  here  they  received  the  com- 
mon name  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  and 
were  called  Dutch  Baptists.  From  the  best  sources 
of  information  that  can  be  obtained,  there  were  in 
A.  D.,  1815,  in  the  kingdom  of  Holland,  and  in  the 
other  parts  of  the  European  continent,  more  than 
300  Baptist  churches,  550  ministers,  and  30,000 
communicants. — Bened.  Hist,  all  Religions,  pp. 
203,  295. 


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